The Christian Perspective!

"Exposing false church leaders in Zimbabwe" by Nicholas Mada.

2008-01-17T06:37:00.000+02:00

“An ungodly man digs up evil, and it is on his lips like a burning fire." Proverbs 16.27 Norbert Kunonga’s relationship with Robert Mugabe is a clear sign of an ungodly Bishop of a church teaming up with a ruthless dictator. The Bishop has dug his own grave and his end is going to be disastrous just like all who have been close to the ruler.

Why then do we have many such church leaders in Zimbabwe? I am not judging them but am worried about these false and manipulating church leaders who are conning our long suffering relatives. Church leaders are supposed to be the shepherds of the people but instead many of them in Zimbabwe are enriching themselves using God’s name. This is misleading and must be exposed now rather than later.

Let us focus on the trend of Mugabe using his cronies in government departments to corrupt people. The police force and the CIO under Chihuri and Mabhunda respectively are well connected to churches. The question now is what is the population that such churches lead and what is the influence of such loyalists to Mugabe who have killed innocent people all these years? Constable Oripa from Matapi is one good example of those used by church man Chihuri to torment people. These church men are working right against what they claim to be. Again, Kunonga is a new recruit of Zanu PF and he will do anything possible to mislead his followers in order to get a farm. Zanufication of Zimbabwe by Mugabe. This is nonsense. Zimbabweans, don't be cowards, stand up for your own rights.

I believe church leaders must help big crowds and improve their daily lives. Instead these people are used to uplift the wealth levels of these Zimbabwean church leaders. They must all be exposed now rather than later. These high profile church leaders in Zimbabwe have used our people for too long and this must come to an end now. Once they get what they want they discard their followers like waste.

The main agenda of these church leaders is to be honored and respected like Jesus. How can they be compared to the savior of the people when they are just opportunists? This is insane. They preach militant Zanu PF dirty politics and torture the same people they want to be their followers. These rulers arouse fear within a society and people live like animals in Zimbabwe. Many Christians in Zimbabwe will acknowledge my point here that they are being brainwashed by Mugabe’s preachers in these so called God’s congregations. There has been very serious people’s behavior manipulation by Zanu PF through many churches in the country. Inventory of all church leaders who got farms from Mugabe must be revealed to the public.Then it will be up to the public to deal with them.

There are differences between preaching by bishops and brain damage by Mugabe but both have been steadily moving pretty close. Manipulating and controlling followers for the benefit of church leaders and Robert Mugabe is the order of the day in the politics of Zanu PF. There is no spiritual gain by Christians here.” Whoever misleads the upright into an evil way will fall into his own pit, but the blameless will have a goodly inheritance." Proverbs 28:10.

Zimbabweans are not a docile people but we have been used to destroy, divide, and fail to function as a society. This has been Mugabe’s strategy and Lookout Masuku said that during his last days in bed. Mugabe has been condemned right from the beginning but most have not opened their minds.

We have failed to liberate ourselves as a people and are the reason we are blaming Thabo Mbeki today. My personal worry (and I believe of many too) is when Zimbabweans are going to stop such people like these church leaders to manipulate them? When are church leaders going to know they are being manipulated by Mugabe for his personal survival? Why do Zimbabweans remain aloof when the country is on the cliffs? Is it known by Zimbabweans in the Diaspora and the international community that Mugabe is on a country wide human destruction? If it is known why are we not coming together now rather than later? Well, my own answer is that everybody in the country including the so called church bishops, pastors, elders, ministers, prophets, founders, Sunday school teachers, deacons, and the likes of Kunonga, Chihuri, and Mabhunda are all involved in manipulating Zimbabweans in and out of the country and Mugabe is doing the same to them.

Let me tell Robert Mugabe and his bunch of thugs and opportunists followers that through out history, man’s efforts to ruin one another’s behavior have not been successful. Mugabe’s ambitions to destroy Zimbabwe must be well recorded for history purposes in our country.

Nicholas Nickson Mada (nmada@msn.com)
US

"Church needs new, innovative ways to confront Mugabe" says Sheunesu Hove

2007-12-17T11:24:00.000+02:00

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QUEENSLAND, Australia – This article is in response to an article carried on ZimOnline on Monday highlighting the protest by Anglican Archbishop Dr John Sentamu. First of all I am in support of the Bishop's action. I share his concern, like every one else, about the situation in Zimbabwe.

We seem to be all concerned about the human suffering, human rights violations, bad governance and a lot more of the current problems in Zimbabwe.

It is good for a man of God to show that where people are suffering, you do not sit back and say one day God will bless them and remove their suffering. You make a step, no matter how small.
That then becomes the beginning of a big process. Bravo His Lordship.

Even in the Bible, (Mat. 5:23-35; John 4:20) we read that man cannot be reconciled with God unless and until they are reconciled with each other first. As such where there is conflict among human beings God may not even receive our sacrifices or offerings until we reconcile first.
However, because my Lord Bishop is not a politician, and I guess even if he has no intention of becoming one, that does not absolve him from making sure that God's people are not subjected to human suffering by the actions of politicians who purport to be concerned about the same people they make to suffer.

He may not be alone, as I believe there are other clergymen and women who share the same views and sentiments, but have not come out in the open yet. Politicians, more so leaders like President Mugabe, have for a long time found solace in the doctrine of Sovereignty.

Although it is one of the fundamental elements of a modern nation state and is written in black and white in the UN Charter that no state is allowed to interfere in another state's internal affairs, of late it has been subject to abuse and misuse.

This abuse and misuse is meant to legitimise criminality through state action, especially crimes against humanity. Such is the situation in Zimbabwe. For example, the use of political affiliation and loyalty in food distribution is a typical example of structural violence by the authorities.
Sovereignty has become a political rhetoric President Mugabe remembers very well every time he is given an opportunity to address an audience.

Even funeral gatherings have not been spared either. Unfortunately, the UN Charter does not provide for protection of the abuse or misuse of the same provision by those who head different states. Had there been such a provision, we could have put it to test in the Zimbabwean situation. However, it has become a wish which will not benefit the beggars anywhere.
Nation states exist in an environment characterised by lack of a supra government over other governments. That in itself leaves citizens of every state at the mercy of their heads of state.
Such is our situation, not only in Zimbabwe, but the world over. Mugabe uses the politics of identity and memory very well and carefully.

It is a deliberate and calculated move to strip people of their true identity and then give them a preferred political identity cemented by frequent and programmed propaganda based on politics of memory. For example, political jingles played every thirty minutes on radio and television and the frequent reference to the war of liberation which has become the norm in speeches at every level.

Be that as it may, there is nothing wrong in referring to that important epoch. But if it becomes a shield and smokescreen for poor governance, then it becomes cheap propaganda reminiscent of a regime devoid of new ideas to provide solutions to the national crisis.

Any approach to find solutions to the situation in Zimbabwe cannot therefore be a parallel process as it serves only to play into the hands of the regime. I agree with the Anglican Archbishop, Dr John Sentamu when he says President Mugabe has “taken people’s identity” and “cut it into pieces’’.

A people without identity are a people lost, reconstructed and dehumanised. It is a people with confusion and cannot say who they are. They suffer from an identity crisis. As such they are vulnerable to abuse by those who purport to give them an identity. They can only identify themselves differently in different situations, but never permanently.

It is good that the clergyman identified that and realised the need to symbolically show the world what he thinks, can do and will remain doing. However, I do not to agree with the Archbishop when he said he will wear the dog collar until Mugabe gets out of power or is gone. That statement in itself is political and hence confrontational.

It is a statement that can only come from those who have political ambitions and are interested in politics. That approach then ceases to be a non-violent one and therefore may fail the test of time just like all other confrontational approaches have failed.

The opposition in Zimbabwe and the civil society organisations are in a better position to tell my Lord Bishop that Mugabe is the champion of confrontational approaches.

He has always won the confrontational tournaments since Zimbabwe gained independence. We have experienced on numerous occasions boycotts and stay away, but none of them have yielded any tangible results to date.

In every case Mugabe was the winner, may be not only a winner, but became even more hardened. I would rather the Archbishop focus on bringing change by combining effort with other clergymen and approach the regime from an international church Initiative using constructive dialogue.

Such an approach can then strengthen the shaky and seemingly ineffective initiative by the Zimbabwean churches, which has become known as 'The Zimbabwe We Want'.

This approach has been bed-ridden for some time and it may benefit very much from the nourishment brought about by an international church initiative.

This gives those concerned with helping the people in Zimbabwe, as well as the eventual beneficiaries, an understanding of the framework of the political realm in Zimbabwe.
As it is now the regime is prepared for any confrontation from any angle.

John Buchan once likened the building of peace to fishing, ‘it is the pursuit of what is elusive, but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope’.

I believe and have hope that a solution can be found for the crisis we have in Zimbabwe. It may appear elusive and for as long as we want a quick fix, then it will even appear impossible.
Peace is a philosophy and, in fact, a paradigm with its own values and precepts, which provide a framework within which to discern, understand, analyze and regulate all human relationships in order to create an integrated, holistic and humane social order.

Let’s not do more harm than good. It is good to be very careful when approaching a trapped leopard which has not eaten for days. All I want to say is that dialogue in this case is the only way forward.

Let’s try and engage each other as a way to find solutions to problems. Lets give dialogue a chance.

* Sheunesu Hove.

Hove is a Rotary World Peace Fellow, studying for a Masters in International Studies at the University of Queensland in Australia. He can be contacted at - hovesheu@yahoo.com

"JESUS IS THE ANSWER TO ZIM PROBLEMS!" Zim Industry Chief!

2007-09-17T07:55:00.001+02:00

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Zimbabwe needs Jesus, - CZI chief

By Jennifer Dube

ZIMBABWE needs Jesus," the head of one of the most influential business organisations in the country, said last week. "I call upon all Zimbabweans to pray that God bails us out of the problems we are facing.

"Only Godly solutions will heal this economy, otherwise if man's solutions were what we needed, we would have recovered by now."

Callisto Jokonya was not addressing a born-again congregation, but speaking to Standardbusiness on what he saw as the next strategy to economic recovery after the prices and income turbulence of the last few weeks.

Jokonya, the president of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries, said only "Godly solutions" would be potent enough to ameliorate the economic meltdown, triggered by the 2000 land reform programme and the economic and political fallout that ensued.

A staunch supporter of the government's economic policy, Jokonya was asked for the CZI's assessment of the impact of the 20% mark-up regime for prices imposed by the government in the past two weeks.

Last July, the government forced business to reduce prices by 50% to where they were on 18 June. It publicly accused them of colluding with the West in plotting a "regime change", which business rejected out of hand. This was followed by a blanket freeze on all price hikes.

At the onset of government's pricing campaign, CZI hailed the measure, urging all companies to guard against offending the government.

Their acquiescence was widely criticised by economic and political analysts, who predicted accurately, as it turned out that it would lead to immense survival problems for the companies who complained of being forced to do business at a loss.

In one of its policy U-turns two weeks ago, the government allowed business to increase prices by 20%.

A snap survey by Standardbusiness showed no significant impact of the 20% mark-up as shop shelves remained empty while more companies, especially in the baking industry, closed shop, citing uneconomic prices.

Last week, Jokonya refused to answer questions relating to the economic "fruits" of both the 20% mark-up regime and the recently unveiled budget.

But he insisted the country needed to pray. "I have no answers to that. All I have to say is that everybody in business, the government sector, civil society and labour should ask God for solutions to this country," he said.

Even the Tripartite Negotiating Forum was incapable of coming up with solutions to the problems, the CZI boss said.

"I believe God is the only one who can save us from the challenges we are facing. Please write that. Also tell (Trevor) Ncube to write that in his Mail and Guardian newspaper because I have to encourage all Zimbabweans in this regard," he said.

In a written response to questions from Standardbusiness, the Employers Confederation of Zimbabwe said they were "happy" that the government had finally come to the realisation that the arbitrary prices they had set were not helpful in the restoration of business viability which should result in a supply side response for goods and services in the economy.

"Employers are happy with recent developments but are sad that in a lot of cases it is coming a too little, too late.

"After the losses suffered from the Price Control Regulations, most businesses have not yet recovered sufficiently to get back into full production," the statement said.

They said although the price blitz was in contravention of some of the provisions of the TNF protocols signed on 1 June 2007, they believed social dialogue would finally yield answers for the country's economic woes.

Apart from bad judgment, Ncube is a hero!!

2007-09-13T06:42:00.001+02:00

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By Mthulisi Mathuthu

NEWS of Archbishop Pius Ncube's resignation would have come as no surprise to those who have been following the cleric's story since he was sucked into a very unpious sex scandal.

Whatever the outcome of the pending adultery lawsuit against him is going to be, it goes without saying that whoever planned the whole exercise of filming the bishop's bedroom exploits had done their homework to the last detail.

The obvious motive of this operation was to cause enough damage through a splash of a glut of photographs and videos that would cast a permanent shadow over the bishop's history and future work.

It is not wholly wrong then to say the archbishop has done the honourable thing to resign and save his Church from shame, and to win back public support that would have permanently evaporated if he had chosen to be his granite self in the face of a well-orchestrated plot executed with breathtaking skill by the state media and Robert Mugabe's security men.

To us, the bishop has paid his price. It is wrong to bed a married woman, and even more scandalous for a man of the cloth to conduct himself in a manner such as the bishop is alleged to have done.

Be that as it may, the effort to cast a permanent shadow over the cleric's record collapses of its own accord. Here is a man, who despite his own faults has remained consistent in his criticism of an evil regime that has never, even for a day, cared about the suffering of the country's poor.

What he condemned more than 20 years ago remains prevalent up to this day. In the early 1980's, Ncube was amongst the clerics who confronted President Mugabe with evidence of state terror against the ordinary people in the Midlands and the Matabeleland regions.

He remained resolute right up to this date in his conviction that Mugabe's regime was not about prosperity nor was it was about liberation. For standing up for us all, Ncube took fierce criticism and shocking name-calling, including from the First Person himself Robert Mugabe. Mugabe labelled the clerics as "a band of Jeremiahs' prophesying for Joshua Nkomo".

Of particular concern to Ncube and those like him was the state's penchant for blood spilling, blackmail and deceit as a measure to destroy political opposition. Also of concern was the universal silence in the face of clear-cut state terrorism.

For the archbishop to have chosen that path at a time when many of today's so-called pro-democracy activists were praising Mugabe, proved he was and still is a brave and courageous man.

Today Mugabe's quarrelsome-brand of politics remains firmly in place and on the march. Nothing has changed, only that the players have changed here and there. It's still the same old way of thuggishly silencing dissent and diverting public attention from the real issues.

Thanks to Ncube, his colleagues then and the opposition of that time, we trace the current wave of universal scepticism about Mugabe's rule -- for what is it which today's human rights defenders and the opposition politicians are saying which Ncube didn't question yesterday?

The bishop may have fallen, but his word hasn't and will never fall for it shall remain true that Mugabe has not been good for Zimbabwe.

It shall remain true that we have today in Zimbabwe some clerics who are working hand in glove with a discredited government to undermine the march of democracy.

It shall remain true that somewhere in the din of the clamour for change is hidden the sinister voices of those who are in the government's payroll, some of whom may have played a role in the filming of the bishop's bedroom -- itself a gross abuse of a person's right to privacy.

Historians will in future look at the story of Ncube as a brave, naïve man. Brave because he stood for the truth at a time when Mugabe was a "hero" for many who today pretend they never fantasised about him as a democrat.

He refused to sail with the wind and listen to the lily-livered clerics who chose to remain silent when Mugabe's cohorts were plunging terror into the twin towers of freedom and liberty.

No doubt today his fall will be used by his enemies within the ecumenical movement as a reason to fear the truth which is what the government wants. Naïve? Yes. Here is a man whose fall was triggered by nothing but naiveté -- the failure to notice that the moment you take things to the sewer with Mugabe, you should gird your loins and watch out even in your toilet.

Mugabe has not only made his name in the sewers -- he literally resides there. There is no gainsaying that the bishop's words had the blessing of the world's powerful institutions, his church, politicians and the governments and the ordinary people of Zimbabwe. All he needed was to be intelligent enough not to slip into Mugabe's residence -- the sewer. But he did, and he has paid for it.

Yet his word shall forever remain in the mouths of all those chasing justice. His song we will sing even at the risk of being labelled 'Jeremiahs'.

He is a first class human rights activist, a great man who did wrong and paid the ultimate price. When will Mugabe finally be accountable?

Mthulisi Mathuthu is The New Zimbabwe news editor and can be contacted on e-mail: mthulisi@newzimbabwe.com
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MARY REVESAI REPLIES THE ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU!

2007-07-06T08:26:00.001+02:00

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LINK TO ARCHBISHOP TUTU'S STATEMENT!!!

Mugabe wants to stay, not save face

By Mary Revesai

Last updated: 07/04/2007 21:08:14

OTHER ARTICLES BY MARY REVESAI

It's not MDC's job to bail out Zanu PF

Mugabe will miss Blair

Ndlovu spins with juvenile gusto

Kembo Mohadi made fool of himself

Mbeki must condemn state violence

We are truly on our own

Defence of Mugabe misguided

Inside Mugabe's Tower of Babel

Chance to humanise Mugabe is missed

Mugabe never makes idle threats

Enduring famine at the banquet

Cabinet reshuffle a mockery

Maze of Mugabe patronage everywhere

Mudede fiasco shows extent of lawlessness

The ivory tower dweller and the affable author

MIC a costly anachronism

Sexist element in Ncube's harassment

Mugabe must be stopped

Regime resorts to more ploys to buy time

Will Mugabe quit in 2010?

Zimbabwe has leeches, not scorpions

MY FAVOURITE cleric in the whole of Africa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, has been pondering on what can be done to get Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe to give up power and allow new blood to take over leadership of the country.

The outspoken Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who has spoken out regularly in solidarity with the ordinary people in Zimbabwe, suggested that Mugabe, who has been the country's sole head of state since independence in 1980, needed facing-saving options to enable him to accept the possibility of stepping down.

Tutu suggested that a change of leadership in Britain where Gordon Brown had replaced Mugabe's nemesis, Tony Blair, could provide an opportunity for Mugabe to climb down from his position of clinging to power at all costs, including the collapse of the economy and the pauperisation of the population.

"A change of cast might have an important bearing on how things develop. I would hope that there might just be a way of providing face-savers that would enable people to exit without feeling that they had lost a great deal of personal stature"

The Archbishop's wise counsel would work in any other situation and with any other leader but it is most unlikely to work with Zimbabwe's 83-year old authoritarian.

Mugabe is tenaciously clinging to power because, in my opinion, he wants to remain in charge until he drops dead. I believe that he would ignore the most subtle face-saver even if it was thrust into his face (pun unintended) and he has, in fact, passed up many opportunities when he could have retired honourably.

The very reason he is currently citing as justification for not allowing a successor to be identified within Zanu PF, that he cannot leave the ruling party in disarray as a result of intense jockeying for position by the various factions, would in fact have been one of the best reasons to give others their turn to lead.

If Mugabe were prepared to look at the bigger picture, he would have told his colleagues that in the interests of preserving party unity, he would step down but before that he would use his influence and prestige to defuse infighting within the party and thus help to build consensus about who should take over and how that successor should be chosen. He would have had to be actively involved in defusing the raging tensions and divisions to ensure that he left the organisation and government in good hands.

Mandela did it seamlessly when he handed over to Thabo Mbeki after serving only one term. Tony Blair may have been pushed to quit but all the same he did the right thing by passing the baton on to Brown in recognition of the mood within New Labour. In contrast, Mugabe is determined to ignore all signs of resistance to his continuing monopolisation of leadership.

The most telling sign that Mugabe simply does not want to go is the way he has used divide-and-rule tactics to create fear, panic and uncertainty within his party so that he could use the resulting mayhem as his reason for holding on to power. This has been clear in the manner in which he has attacked both the Mujuru and Mnangagwa factions, at one stage comparing aspirants to the position of state president to witches "standing at the door" to hasten his departure.

After declaring during an interview on the occasion of his 83rd birthday in February that there were "no vacancies" in the presidium, speculation is rife that Mugabe is the mastermind behind the recent alleged coup plot to oust him, in which Mnangagwa was implicated.

Cynics believe that the coup plot is a Mugabe ruse designed to demonstrate that both the candidates touted as his possible successors, Joice Mujuru and Emmerson Mnangagwa, cannot be trusted and therefore he should remain in charge to hold the party together. If Mugabe was ready to go, he could have used the passing into law of the 17th Amendment to the constitution which was said to mark the completion of the land reform programme. He could have told his party and the nation at large that now that his dream of empowering blacks through the redistribution of land had come true, he would retire.

Mugabe also has his advanced age as a ready and honorable reason for handing over power to new blood. Mandela used it to great effect and won universal admiration when he announced that he would step down because an 80-year old man had no business to be still president of a country. For whatever reason, Mugabe has in fact done the opposite, mentioning regularly that he is a "young old man" with the bones of a 28-year old although he will be 90-years-old if he remains in power for another six years as widely feared.

Recently, Mugabe's younger brother, Donatus, died at the age of 80. At the funeral, Mugabe eulogized Donatus as having been the family patriarch because of the elder Mugabe's involvement in politics.

If he wanted to let go, Mugabe could have won the respect of the nation by announcing that he was quitting politics to finally assume the role of patriarch within the family. It did not necessarily have to be true but it could have provided him with an honourable way to leave the political scene without losing face. Some observers have speculated that Mugabe is so determined to remain at the helm because he fears that the fate of Charles Taylor, who is being prosecuted for war crimes and crimes against humanity at The Hague, could befall him too. Mugabe has the Gukurahundi genocide in which 20 000 civilians were butchered in Matabeleland and the Midlands in the 1980s, hanging over his head. Since then, he has been accused of sanctioning more human rights abuses and killings.

It is therefore difficult to believe that the fear of prosecution in his dotage is the reason Mugabe is doing everything under the sun to remain in power. I want to argue that if this were indeed the reason, Mugabe would be making sure that he did not perpetrate any more atrocities against the populace and try to atone for past misdeeds by being more humane in the twilight of his life. But he has done the opposite and has continued openly sanctioning state-sponsored violence against political opponents, even boasting before fellow African leaders at a Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) emergency summit that the police had indeed battered Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai and other opposition leaders three months ago.

Last year the police similarly brutalised leaders of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions and Mugabe poked fun at the victims saying the police would continue to thrash those who "provoked" them. He was equally insensitive when the police recently targeted lawyers and tortured a group protesting the arrest of colleagues. The victims of this latest police brutality included Beatrice Mutetwa, the first woman president of the Law Society of Zimbabwe. Common sense would dictate that if Mugabe was clinging to power because he was apprehensive about his fate after leaving office, he would be careful not to commit any more human rights abuses.

Mugabe's case seems to be a straightforward case of power corrupting absolutely. The man cannot simply imagine anyone else being good enough to govern the country while he is still alive. The many complex wars and battles he is still determined to wage at his advanced age when he should be taking things easy, do not paint a picture of someone who would leave voluntarily under any circumstances.

Mary Revesai is a New Zimbabwe.com columnist and writes from Harare. Her column will appear here every Tuesday

Tutu says Mugabe needs face-saving options!!!

2007-06-29T11:15:00.001+02:00

By David Clarke

LONDON (Reuters) - South African Nobel peace prize laureate Desmond Tutu said on Wednesday Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe needed face-saving options for there to be a chance of him stepping aside.

Tutu said the replacement of Tony Blair by Gordon Brown as prime minister of Britain, Zimbabwe's former colonial ruler, could help the situation but much depended on negotiations to resolve the crisis being mediated by South Africa.

"A change of cast might have an important bearing on how things develop," Tutu told Reuters in an interview.

"I would hope that there might just be a way of providing face savers that would enable people to exit without feeling that they had lost a great deal of personal stature," he said.

"We need to provide that for the sake of the people and it may be that (Britain's) new prime minister just might have a way of saying things that would be slightly more acceptable."

Relations between Britain and Zimbabwe have reached a low. Mugabe, 83 and in power since independence in 1980, has accused Britain of trying to overthrow him and he threatened on Wednesday to seize foreign companies.

Britain has criticised Mugabe for his crackdown on the opposition Movement for Democratic Change and accused him of driving the southern African state to economic ruin.

Tutu, who has been an outspoken critic of human rights violations by Mugabe's government, was not specific about the kind of face savers that might work.

He said: "I think they have to go and speak with the actors but it is finding a way of letting him maybe step down in a way that still leaves him with some dignity and self respect."

While Western nations have called for a tough African response to end the crisis, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has plotted its own diplomatic course, calling for more dialogue and an end to Western sanctions.

"(South African) President (Thabo) Mbeki is the facilitator, the mediator, appointed by SADC and he's had some of (the Zimbabweans) come to Pretoria and they've had exchanges," said Tutu.

"I have been told on very good authority that I think the two sides set themselves June 30 as the deadline for something significant," he said.

"It's a delicate thing and you are constantly having to determine whether it is better to keep quiet for a while so that you don't muddy the waters.

"And so much hinges on how President Mugabe reacts and then you know that the fate of many, many, many hangs on how he operates. So I wouldn't want to jeopardise the whole thing. Let's wait."

PASTORS TO SHOW CIO THEIR SERMONS BEFORE PREACHING!!

2007-06-19T12:01:00.001+02:00
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Zimbabwe (MNN/SVM) --

Three pastors were arrested in Masvingo in Zimbabwe by the Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) on Sunday, June 10, for distributing toys and candy to children.

Rev. Sonykis Chimbuya, Pastor Peter Bondai, and Pastor Mugondi were detained and questioned by state security agents.

According to Salem Voice Ministries, in a bizarre case highlighting deep levels of paranoia in government, the agents of the Central Intelligence Organization accused the pastors of distributing campaign material for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which is Zimbabwe's biggest opposition party.

Pastor Peter Bondai and Mugondi were released after they were interrogated for more than three hours, while Pastor Chimbuya was kidnapped and dumped along the Masvingo-Great Zimbabwe highway hours after his arrest.

"We are living in constant fear after the harassment at the hands of the CIO agents," Rev. Sonykis Chimbuya to SVIM news.

"They just came to us and picked us one after the other. They asked us about the material we were distributing to various church organizations," they reported.

"One of us was kidnapped and was only released after they had proved beyond doubt that the items we were distributing were in fact toys," They added.

The CIO agents also demanded that the pastors write down their sermons and present them to the secret agents before delivery.

State Security Minister Didymus Mutasa could not be reached for comment on the matter.

President Robert Mugabe last month warned church leaders to steer clear of politics after Catholic bishops denounced the Zimbabwean government over its human rights record.

Peace and Tranquility???

Peace and Tranquility???

Cell in RSA: 0791463039

WHAT THE ZIM LUTHERAN BISHOP SAID ABOUT THE ZIM SITUATION!!

2007-06-17T10:55:00.001+02:00

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Zimbabwe bishop sees change ahead

Evangelical Lutheran Church leader, visiting local synod: Nation at climax of its woes.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

By Renée K. Gadoua

Staff writer

The presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe heads home today after renewing a five-year agreement for a relationship with the local Evangelical Lutheran church.

The church's local synod began its companion partnership with the church in Zimbabwe in 1990. Since then, several delegations from each community have visited their partner synod. Bishop Marie Jerge, of the church's Upstate synod, was part of a local delegation that visited Zimbabwe in 2003.

The renewal of the agreement took place during the local denomination's annual meeting June 3 to 5 in Rochester, attended by Bishop Naison Shava, from Zimbabwe.

"We want to create those connections that already exist in the world but we may not be aware of," Jerge said.

The local synod includes about 80,000 people in 198 churches from Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County to the Canadian border and from the Massachusetts border to Lake Erie.

Shava said the international community needs to understand Zimbabwe's history to understand its current conditions.

The leader of Zimbabwe is President Robert Mugabe, 83, who became the country's first black leader in 1980. Since then, the southern African nation has devolved into a country with high inflation, food and fuel shortages, and accusations of human rights abuses.

Despite international criticism of Mugabe's leadership, Shava is optimistic about Zimbabwe.

Here are excerpts from an interview Tuesday with The Post-Standard.

What's happening in Zimbabwe?

We have gone through a lot of stages of political conflicts and, sometimes, some violence. We have learned through the process. We can say Zimbabweans are a peace-loving community who have learned fighting does not benefit anyone.

How's the economy?

We had a problem with the World Bank, and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) withdrew support, making it very difficult. We had a problem servicing our debt with the IMF. There is no confidence in the economy. Inflation continues to fly high.

How do economic conditions affect the people?

The level of income does not grow the same way (as inflation). If you are eating a loaf of bread a day you have to reduce to half a loaf because you cannot afford it.

Even the people who are working are considered poor. People must rely on subsidies from their relatives or friends outside the country.

How does the land redistribution following independence play into the conditions?

It has caused a straining of international relations. Eighty percent of the land in Zimbabwe is good land and is occupied by 20 percent who happen to be mainly the white community. Eighty percent of the people occupy 20 percent of the land.

This was the result of colonization. It has not been addressed since independence.

Is Mugabe to blame for these problems?

He may have had his errors. There are also areas where he has made it well for the country.

The first 10 or 15 years of his leadership, Zimbabwe's economy was growing. Then he was behaving, in the eyes of the international world, in a funny way.

He is a person who is educated. Because of his frankness, he has created more problems for himself.

What do church leaders think of him?

We are in dialogue with him. Confrontation is not an option.

Didn't Roman Catholic bishops in Zimbabwe call for Mugabe to step down?

There are individual Catholic bishops who would like to play the hero. Their criticism, demonizing Mugabe, does not help.

It would not make sense to force him out of office. It would just create anarchy.

What will Zimbabwe be like in five years?

We're at the climax of our problems. In the next two years, we should be able to see change. We don't know what the solutions are, but, as a church, we have to have hope.

Renee K. Gadoua can be reached at rgadoua@syracuse.com or 470-2203.

ANY NORMAL PERSON MUST GET EMOTIONAL , MR WAKATAMA!

2007-05-24T15:35:00.001+02:00

P. Wakatama gets emotional

Comment published in the Standard Newspaper

by Pius Wakatama

http://www.swradioafrica.com/pages/pwakatama.htm

Sun 9-Oct-2005

A few months ago, I was invited to a private dinner along with a number of eminent Zimbabweans from various walks of life. Among the guests was none other than my good friend and fellow journalist, Dr Ibbo Mandaza, the ardent Zanu PF supporter and favourite government media analyst and apologist. Some foreign dignitaries were also present. The discussion at the table was about the future of Zimbabwe.

Some voiced a lot of platitudes about the need for Zimbabweans to work together and so forth. Others talked about how the opposition and the ruling party were engaged in talks to bring an end the political and economic crisis the country is facing. One or two talked glowingly about the "economic turnaround" that the country was into and painted a picture of a rosy future indeed.

I begged to differ with all of them.

I said there was no hope for Zimbabwe unless Zanu PF went out of power or underwent a radical metamorphosis which was rather unlikely. I said: "A hungry man is an angry man. If the economic situation gets any worse the people might resort to violence."

Mandaza differed with me rather strongly.

He accused me of not looking at the situation rationally and of being too emotional. He went on to describe how good and capable the Zanu PF government was at meeting the national challenges and working hard to make Zimbabwe a success.

He, however, admitted that some mistakes had been made.

At first, I felt stung by Mandaza's remarks.

I wanted to reply with some rather caustic and uncomplimentary comments about his party but thought the better of it. I didn't want to spoil the dinner. These days it is not often that I get invited to a free and sumptuous meal like the one we had. I therefore didn't want to ruin my chances of being invited again.

Also on reflection, I concluded that the good doctor was right. I am indeed an emotional type of person. And come to think of it, there is nothing wrong in being emotional.

Emotion is only undesirable when it arises out of irrational subjectivity such as when someone cries for no apparent reason or lashes out in anger without due cause.

Otherwise emotion is a basic and necessary human expression of feeling.

I tend to become emotional when I rationally consider the ill-treatment of the powerless by the powerful bullies as is happening in Zimbabwe today. I become emotional when I survey the human and physical ruins brought about by "Operation Murambatsvina" and the unnecessary suffering it has brought to thousands who are now homeless.

I become emotional when I see poor vendors who are trying to make an honest living by selling bananas, tomatoes and other vegetables being hounded and arrested when Zanu PF chefs are openly selling scarce petrol, maize meal, sugar, bread and other essentials on the black market with impunity.

Indeed, I become emotional when I see how Zanu PF chefs and their cronies and relatives have carved out the best lands for themselves just like the white colonisers did. The colonisers were better because they took mostly virgin land and developed it. These shameless beggars wait until the white farmer's produce is ripe.

They then swoop down to steal the farm, the implements and the ready-for-the-market produce. I get emotionally charged and mad when poor peasants who were allocated land and have been trying to eke out a living from the soil for the last three years, are being chased away to make way for gainfully employed civil servants and businessmen with mansions in town.

Who would not be incensed at how shameless and crooked liars talk of lofty plans to help the poor when they are devoid of any feelings of love for their fellow men whatsoever? The only love they exhibit is the love of power and filthy lucre. The only feelings they show are feelings of hatred for those who dare question their legitimacy or right to eat like pigs when the rest of the country goes hungry.

How can any true and caring Zimbabwean not become emotional and mad when the country's director of social welfare brazenly says Zimbabwe does not need international food aid? He actually said the majority of the people are able to buy food on their own thus invalidating the need for an international appeal for food aid. I wish I could call a rally of the starving masses in Dzivarasekwa and introduce him to them as the man who told willing donors that they didn't need food aid. "Vaimuita kanyama-kanyama."- They would tear him to pieces right there and then.

The hunger and suffering there is pitiful.

Ask the churches and non-governmental organisations who are trying to feed them with what little food they get if you want to know the truth.

I am not ashamed of being emotional because I am in the best company. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was very emotional. One day as he approached Jerusalem and thought of the evil in the place he wept like a child. He lamented the ignorance of the people as to what could bring about real peace. The Bible says that he entered the temple area and began driving out those engaged in nefarious activities.

As they scattered in all directions some must have thought that they were being attacked by a lunatic. He said to them: "It is written: My house will be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves'. (Luke 19: 39 - 460. Zimbabwe too, has become a den of thieves.

Yes, Jesus became so emotional because of the wrong doing that He saw that He became violent. Oh, I wish that more people could be moved to become emotional as they see what is happening in our country today. Our children's future is being destroyed before our very eyes. We even rejoice when a son or daughter gets a visa to the much vilified UK, Europe or the United States to start a new life there. Shame on us!

Mandaza rebuked me for being emotional and thought that is an undesirable trait. He himself was an unemotional and able apologist for the government but where is he now? To tell you the truth, I was not surprised at all when I read that he had been unceremoniously kicked out of the Zimbabwe Mirror Group of Newspapers, allegedly by agents of the government he so ably defended. He is now frantically battling to regain control of the business he started through the courts. How the mighty have fallen!

When I read about Mandaza's ouster I felt really sorry for my fellow scribe. He had worked so hard to set up the newspaper group. However, he should have known what most Zimbabweans know. "Inonzi ZanuPF.

Ndeyekutamba wakachenjera."

When playing with Zanu PF one should be very careful because it cannot be trusted. It is like playing with scorpions and vipers. Once you don't toe the line you are finished. My sincere advice to Mandaza is to forget about challenging the government through the courts. He will never win for our judiciary is quite partisan. And if he insists on fighting the powers that be to regain his business, he might end up being incarcerated like former Finance minister, Christopher Kuruneri or he might end up a fugitive in the diaspora like the former Zanu PF central committee member and businessperson, James Makamba. The list of Zanu PF unfortunates who fell out of favour is endless.

The only sensible thing he can do is to cross the floor and team up with those actively opposing Zanu PF hegemony. Mandaza could only have remained at the helm of the Mirror Group by parroting Zanu PF and government propaganda.

He was tolerated as long as he toed the middle line. But, when he openly went against government propaganda by criticising "Operation Murambatsvina", his fate was sealed. Our government does not tolerate independent thinking, especially by the media.

Those who say that the right of the people to speak out through a free Press is a hallmark of a democratic society are definitely not talking about Zimbabwe. Ours is not a democratic society but a dictatorship.

Those with ears to hear let them hear!

ANGLICAN BISHOPS CORRECT "MISLEADING " REPORT!

2007-05-11T10:15:00.001+02:00

http://www.nehandaradio.com/anglicanmugabe110507.html

11 May 2007

The Bishops of the Church of the Province of Central Africa would like to correct the misleading report which appeared in the Herald Newspaper of 20 April, 2007 and other media giving the impression that the Bishops supported President Mugabe in the crisis facing the country. The Herald Newspaper distorted the Bishops' Pastoral Message issued after their recent Episcopal Synod in Harare, Zimbabwe, held on the 11 13^th April, 2007.

Contrary to what the media may have tried to insinuate the position of the Bishops in regard to the situation in Zimbabwe, is that they are concerned and pained at the distressing occurrences that have been taking place in Zimbabwe, especially the deteriorating economy that has rendered the ordinary Zimbabwean unable to make ends meet. The Bishops by highlighting the economic sanctions in the declining welfare of the people were simply pointing out that this is also a critical factor among others such the violence, especially against, the opposition and civic groups, corruption and mismanagement which have destroyed many government-run institutions and infrastructure causing tremendous hardships on people's lives in Zimbabwe.

In this context the Bishops appealed to the government of Zimbabwe to provide a framework for peace by creating a conducive environment for dialogue and tolerance and also called upon the civil society in Zimbabwe to articulate and promote the practice and respect of human dignity by all social and political ways in the building of a culture of governance that respects the sanctity of life. Furthermore, the Bishops urged the church in Zimbabwe to offer an effective pastoral ministry to the downtrodden, to rebuke and warn the nation especially those in positions of authority through a prophetic ministry by calling upon the nation to repentance and renewed relationship with God and our neighbours.

Another misleading impression given by the Herald Newspaper was that the Anglican Bishops Pastoral Message disagreed with the Catholic Bishops' Pastoral Letter published on Easter day, 8 April, 2007, entitled "God hears the Cries of the oppressed[1]. As Bishops of the Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa, we   endorse the Catholic Bishops' Pastoral Letter.

The role of the Church is to provide moral and spiritual leadership. It is therefore imperative on the Church to always promote that issues of conflict and violence are resolved in a spirit of forgiveness, love and reconciliation.

Issued: 28 April, 2007

             By the Provincial Secretary

             The Rev Fr Eston Dickson Pembamoyo

             Church of the Province of Central Africa

Related stories
Anglican statement not meant to be pro-Mugabe
Defrocked Pastor mobilizes sons to disrupt services
Church leader appeals for peace in Zimbabwe
Bishops attack Mugabe
African Bishops blame Mugabe for crisis
Christians taken to task over Ivy Kombo scandal- 04/12/06
The Zimbabwe we want: Church document on the way forward

RELIGIOUS LEADERS SAW FOR THEMSELVES THE TRAGEDY IN ZIMBABWE!

2007-05-10T07:43:00.001+02:00

Zimbabwe: a challenge to the truth

By Nicholas Baines

http://www.zimbabwejournalists.com/story.php?art_id=2254&cat=4

CROYDON - Any critical account of life in Zimbabwe is written off by the government-sponsored media in Zimbabwe as 'propaganda'. 'UK media lies', aimed at securing re-colonisation, poison the minds of potential visitors and investors, blinding them to the peaceful and harmonious reality of life in a wonderful country. If it wasn't for Western countries such as Britain, there wouldn't be any problems to speak of.

Well, I have just returned from a two-week visit to Zimbabwe with a group of 20 people from my Episcopal Area. We began to plan the visit nearly three years ago and became increasingly diffident about it as conditions deteriorated there more recently.

Our fears were not based purely on British media coverage of Zimbabwe, but also on reports we were getting from the country through contacts in the churches at all levels. Our visit, then, afforded a unique opportunity to see for ourselves what is going on there as well as develop our long-standing link with the Diocese of Central Zimbabwe.

The situation looks like this:

Inflation is well above 3000 per cent and rising, thus making any planning impossible. The official exchange rate was 250 Zim dollars to 1 US dollar; but the parallel rate (on which prices are based) was 16,000 Zim dollars to 1 US dollar. The black market rules.

Nothing has been repaired for years and the country's infrastructure is collapsing. Constant power cuts, sometimes lasting for days, are interspersed with water shortages. In Gweru, the administrative centre of the Midlands Province, we were without running water for our last five days; in Kadoma, where I preached and presided on Sunday April 22, there has been no running water for two months.

We saw signs of malnutrition in children, and adults suffering from hunger fatigue. Some of the people we stayed with are normally eating what is called 'zero one zero' - no breakfast, a basic lunch and nothing in the evening. This year's drought has devastated the maize crop.

Agricultural land, once so rich and well-farmed, is now largely abandoned. The land-reform process has been catastrophic, not because it was morally wrong in itself (the UK agreed to it), but because it was ill-conceived, appallingly executed and has proved economically disastrous. You don't need a GCSE in economics to know that it could never work.

Many businesses and industries have closed down or are working at a small percentage of their capability.

HIV/AIDS is wreaking devastation and life expectancy for a male is now 34 years.

Our visit was designed to give us unique access to ordinary people. Our hosts were generous and hospitable, wanting us to be comfortable and looked after. However, nothing can hide the reality that lies behind this warmth. People are going hungry and are beginning to feel hopeless. One priest said to us, 'You see us walking, but we are dead already'. They are fearful of the authorities and pessimistic about the possibility of next year's elections bringing any change. They end many conversations with: 'We must pray that God's will may be done.' And therein lies a problem.

One of the aspects of Zimbabwean life that is hard to comprehend is the disjunction between 'hope' and responsibility. Many of the people we met hope that radical change will come and their lives improve. But when we said that prayer must be accompanied by action, this was often dismissed. It is clearly easy to be critical from a distance of these people's apparent unwillingness to take responsibility for the changes that are needed (eg voting against Mugabe in 2008), but nevertheless this is a striking feature of many conversations.

Our group comprised eight clergy and 12 lay people of different ages and backgrounds. We had educationalists, medics, a lawyer, IT specialists - all of us falling in love with Zimbabwe and her people. We spent time together as a group, but were then dispersed to different parts of the Diocese of Central Zimbabwe. Therefore, the picture we built came not from second-hand reports, but from personal experience. Water shortages and power cuts were experienced by all. Hunger was identified by all. Fear of intimidation was discerned by many.

From high-density townships to rural villages, the picture was remarkably consistent.

In the midst of all this the Anglican Church is struggling to keep hope alive. The worship in the churches we visited was vibrant and life-changing. The music was fantastic everywhere we went. People know how to celebrate - but whilst celebrating their faith and their God, they are not celebrating their circumstances. Priests and people are trying to enable one another to remain faithful under pressure and to have the courage to do what is necessary to bring about change. We met some very brave and good people.

However, the Anglican Church is also hindered in its witness. The scandalous Bishop of Harare, Nolbert Kunonga, dominates the church and makes it impossible for the Church to speak with one voice. He is a Mugabe man and is supported by Bernard Malango, Primate of the Province of Central Africa. Archbishop Malango (who has announced his retirement from the end of 2007) is a 'conservative' Primate who sees sexuality as a moral issue, but appears to see little problem with (presumably, non-moral) matters of financial fraud, incitement to murder and corruption. Kunonga has his support.

Following a recent Provincial Episcopal Synod (April 12) the bishops issued a statement that appeared weak in its demands, as this newspaper reported last week. Yet it clearly called for change in Zimbabwe and, by implication, change in governance and government. Those who have ears to hear will discern in this an encouragement to bring about such change. Even Kunonga signed a plea for change. The regime of Robert Mugabe will end - all empires do - and many of those who have climbed on his back will go down with him - including those who are prepared to let their people suffer in the interests of their private power games.

Our visit has left us with much to reflect upon. The extraordinary faith and spirituality of the people we met reaches out in costly praxis to the hungry, the orphaned and widowed, the sick, the aged and the bereaved - but how can they speak and act prophetically before people who cannot bear criticism or challenge? How can we best support the ordinary people of Zimbabwe through the networks we have in the churches there? How can we help prepare for the rebuilding of this suffering country in a way that does not patronise, but enables Zimbabwean Christians to re-shape their country and church? How can we most usefully use our resources to support those who will one day be able to offer good models of governance and the exercise of power? How can we most effectively pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ while they suffer in a land waiting for liberation?

And are these observations the result of naïve consumption of British propaganda? No. We saw for ourselves.

The Rt Revd Nicholas Baines is Bishop of Croydon. This article was originally published in the Religious Intelligence.

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THE INTERVIEW BY THEARCHBISHOP PIUS NCUBE!

2007-05-09T12:20:00.001+02:00

PLEASE CLICK BELOWAND SEE AND HEAR FOR YOURSELF!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=bHb_VwTIPm4

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DESPERATE, ILLEGITIMATE ROBERT NOW THREATENS BISHOPS!

2007-05-04T15:29:00.000+02:00

Zimbabwe's Mugabe warns Roman Catholic bishops

(PLEASE CLICK ON HEADER FOR LINK!)

HARARE/JOHANNESBURG – President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has warned Roman Catholic bishops in the country that they are on a dangerous path after they criticized his government in a recent pastoral letter, reports said Friday.
The 83-year old president, himself a Roman Catholic, dismissed as nonsense the pastoral letter released last month that said the crisis gripping Zimbabwe was a crisis of governance and leadership.
If I had gone to church and the priest had read that so-called pastoral letter, I would have stood up and said nonsense, Mugabe said in comments carried in the latest edition of the British-based New African magazine and reproduced Friday in the official Herald newspaper.
“It (the pastoral letter) is not something spiritual, it is not religious, the bishops have decided to turn political,” Mugabe said.
“And once they turn political, we regard them as no longer being spiritual and our relations with them would be conducted as if we are dealing with political entities, and this is quite a dangerous path they have chosen for themselves.”
In their hard-hitting letter, which was distributed in all Roman Catholic parishes on Easter Sunday, the nine bishops said a new constitution under which free and fair elections can be held was needed to avoid bloodshed and a major uprising.
They also accused the government of maintaining and enhancing unjust laws adopted from former colonial governments.
Many people in Zimbabwe are angry, and their anger is now erupting into open revolt in one township after another. The confrontation in our country has now reached a flashpoint, the bishops said.
In the interview, Mugabe said he would speak to the bishops, but warned that he would be giving them a piece of his mind.
“A bishop can go to hell while an ordinary person goes to heaven depending on the character of the person. Well, I don’t want to say much about the bishops now, I will say much when I meet them,” he said. –Sapa-dpa

CHURCH ENDS 'CRIMINAL SILENCE' ON ZIMBABWE!

2007-05-04T08:03:00.001+02:00

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Zimbabwe bishops end 'criminal silence' on Mugabe

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2007/s07050013.htm

HARARE, ZIMBABWE (ANS) -- As the Catholic Pax Christi peace movement calls for prayer and action for Zimbabwe, a local political analyst says that a pastoral letter by the country's bishops calling for the removal of the Mugabe regime may help end the crisis.

According to a story carried on www.cathnews.com, John Makumbe, a Zimbabwean political commentator and Mugabe critic, told Reuters that local Christian leaders could play a large role in finding a solution to the crisis.

"I think after such a long silence, a criminal silence in my view, the Catholic bishops have woken up to this disaster, and the other church leaders will probably do the same soon and help sort out this crisis," Mr Makumbe said.

Robert Mugabe
Other political analysts also believe that the Church's sharp criticism of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe could have a greater influence in persuading him to discuss political reform than a mass of attacks from elsewhere, Reuters says.
Zimbabwe's Catholic bishops accused Mugabe and his officials of running a bad and corrupt government and abusing the political rights of Zimbabweans in a pastoral letter posted in churches throughout the southern African nation during Easter.
The www.cathnews.com story said that neither Mugabe, a practicing Catholic, nor his officials have publicly responded to the warning from Zimbabwe's Catholic Bishops' Conference that radical reforms were needed to avert a mass uprising in the economically-strapped country.
"The pastoral letter presents a new challenge to Mugabe and will probably help persuade him that he needs to be talking about electoral and constitutional reforms, too, as pressure is mounting on him," said Eldred Masunungure, a political science professor at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare.

Archbishop Pius Ncube
"The Catholic bishops bring a new moral authority to the Zimbabwe crisis, which Mugabe cannot simply dismiss offhand by suggesting that they are supping with his Western enemies," he added.
Mugabe, who counts a number of Catholic priests among his friends, has traditionally taken a hands-off approach to political critics within the Catholic Church, the largest Christian denomination in Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, Pax Christi International has launched a call for a day of prayer and action on 14 April for Zimbabwe in solidarity with the Zimbabwe bishops and the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference.
The story concluded by saying, "Zimbabwean Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo has also urged the people to stage peaceful demonstrations to call for the president's resignation."

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"BE CAREFUL OF THESE CHURCH LEADERS!" Letter from Kutama.

2007-05-03T07:24:00.001+02:00
By Mthulisi Mathtuhu

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/pages/mthuli28.16350.html

THE Zimbabwean Church leadership is a hotchpotch of fairly educated people of a considerable cultural level and downright gullible people of highly questionable intellectual acumen and moral standing.
Among them you will find narcissistic power mongers and wealth seekers with a fair sprinkling of dishonest men and women of renowned insincerity.
Not to be outdone are those of different political persuasions making the grouping naturally given to polarisation which is why the Anglicans and the Catholics will issue totally different statements on the situation obtaining in Zimbabwe as if they reside in two different planets.
This composition renders the Church leadership vulnerable to manipulations and hi-jacking as the politicians seek to use them as a camouflage for their
tyranny.
So when the Church leaders met last year to produce the Zimbabwe We Want document, it was apparent to some of us in the ecumenical movement that the gullible lot among them had swung the ship to take the route that was welcome to the government and help Robert Mugabe pretend that he was doing something.
The blunder of the Church today has been to enter the Zimbabwean debate with the thinking that Zimbabwe is a victim of some conspiracy. The scope of their reasoning is essentially pleasing to Mugabe.
They speak about Zimbabwe in a manner that would rather please the tyrant in Mugabe than challenge and implore the normal person in him to see sense in the drive for the other Zimbabwe.
Rather than use their moral authority to diplomatically bring a sense of guilt and consequently, the urgent need for reform, they will use it to shield him. Mugabe is certainly relieved than challenged by the bond he has with the Church leaders who often concoct eulogies for him under the guise of theological reflection and patriotism.
The Church Leader’s spokesperson Bishop Trevor Manhanga’s "patriotic" statements and gesturing are all that counts to Mugabe and are enough to please him as they are within the premise of blaming somebody else other than the Dear Leader.
The contents of the Zimbabwe We Want document are not important to Mugabe, after all that is what is written every day in the opinion pages of newspapers by the Lovemore Madhukus and the Brian Kagoros.
What Mugabe is interested in are the Bishops who purchase into and defend the fallacy that Zimbabwe is under attack and is a victim of vitriolic imperialist propaganda.
That is why there is no difference today between Manhanga’s utterances and the state adverts praising the trees, mountains, rivers, Victoria Falls and the country’s literacy levels as if anybody ever questioned the beauty of Zimbabwe.
What is under attack is not Zimbabwe in its entirety, but is the obtuse leadership that has sunk deep down to the levels of the ancient kingdoms of the Old Testament era.
What is under attack is not the contents of the document, but the spirit and the purpose behind its release because we have always been saying what it says anyway.
It is the willingness of the Church leaders to expose their ethical weaknesses by being on the same platform of views with Mugabe while at the same time producing a ‘good’ document that he will evidently not take serious in order that they may claim in future that they never conducted themselves questionably.
The Zimbabwe We Want document should not be used to cover up for the Church leadership’s folly which is a windfall for Mugabe.
Even as they still cling on to it, nothing has come out of the document because there was never going to be anything except that they were always going to end up being "patriotic Zimbabweans" giving interviews to the official press which customarily doesn’t give space to democrats but to confused apologists.
It is for this reason that the document is unacceptable because instead of it being an instrument to engage Zimbabwe and Mugabe for change, it is used to cover up for the Church’s support for the establishment which is what Mugabe intended in the first place.
Criticise the Church leaders today, and their apologists will be quick to say its bigoted criticism because they (primates) produced a "good" document. But didn’t Mugabe present a "good" speech at Independence in 1980 but only to walk out of Rufaro Stadium to set up the Fifth Brigade that went on to mete out unprecedented violence on the civilian population in Matabeleland in a spectacular betrayal of his promises. Wasn’t his speech a good statement used to cover up for his wayward and evil ways that were to unfold just a few weeks from its delivery?
"Even a madman can say something with sense but watch out because he will soon add something to it which will show you that his mind is still spoilt," writes Chinua Achebe.
It is the case with Trevor Manhanga who will produce a good document (regurgitating what has been said over and over again) but will go on to extend solidarity to the very class that is a hindrance to the Zimbabwe he wants.
He will go on to excoriate the defenders of democracy, as he did with South African editor Mondli Makhanya recently, but will keep quiet or just "regret the situation" when the state descends on democrats and opposition politicians seeking to air their views freely.
If Manhanga and his friends are ever so ready to frankly dispute the claims of the supposed detractors of Zimbabwe in the South African media, they should explain why are they reluctant to comment on murder and beatings of Zimbabweans by the state.
It is hypocrisy for them to condemn "violence" under the cover of being non-partisan when it is clear to everybody that what we are faced with is not just "violence" but state terrorism. It is not something to "regret" but something to condemn in frank and forthright terms.
There is very nearly no indication that the Church leaders abhor Mugabe’s un-statesman-like political behaviour. Their spectacular readiness to condemn "violence" and "attacks on Zimbabwe" is opposed by the reluctance to condemn state terror, electoral theft and un-diplomatic violent language from State House.
If they were indeed concerned about bad journalism, they should have long complained in strong terms about the state publications which use their statements to defend Mugabe.
While Manhanga is at liberty to show his vehement displeasure with the South African journalists, he will not show the same forthrightness in the face of journalism practiced by the ZBC and the Herald.
Actually he is silent because it is the kind of journalism serving the person he is not only in bed with but whom he is not willing to be frank in his dealing with.
Evidently, the best way to deal with Mugabe is not through documents but civil disobedience which Archbishop Pius Ncube is talking about.
Hasn’t history shown us that Mugabe resents documents of discussion? Think of the Chihambakwe report, CCJP report, Zimrights report, African Union Human Rights Commission report, Constitutional Commission draft Constitution etc.
To want to discuss with Mugabe is to miss the fact that what is obtaining in Zimbabwe is not a battle of minds. It is something less about views but more about murder, brazen repression and madness.
Zimbabweans including Mugabe know that his time is up. He knows that he has raped the country and will not leave because he fears accounting. It is not that he thinks he is a victim, although he says so.
There is no doubt that the Church leaders are currently not doing anything because the document is dead and buried. It will forever be useless in as far as Zimbabwe’s future is concerned. They have come to a dead end. The only thing they have to do is to complain about some people not being patriotic because the person who sent then to the people has shown them that they were wasting their time.
Perhaps they may as well tell Zimbabwe the source of new vehicles driven by some of the Church leaders. They should say who is funding their secretariat on the so-called Zimbabwe We Want project.
Mthulisi Mathuthu is a New Zimbabwe.com columnist. He can be contacted at: thuthuma@yahoo.com

URGENT "STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS" FROM THE OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT!

2007-05-03T07:17:00.001+02:00

"STATE OF THE NATION" ADDRESS BY YOUR PRESIDENT!

I think there is a bit of confusion in our beloved country of Zimbabwe today!

Who ever said I won the Presidential Elections of 2002?

I never said so!

All I said was Tsvangirai's Election Petitions are "frivolous and vexatious."

I also pleaded with all patriots to "recognize" me as the Executive President.

I am the only person who can keep this country of Zimbabwe together!

If I removed myself from the top seat, the country will degenerate into chaos (racialism, tribalism, regionalism and all the negatives you can think of!)

Now we are in this whole mess because you simply refused to do the obvious- JUST RECOGNIZE ME. PERIOD!

Do you honestly think Tsvangirai can run this country?

I'm very disappointed with you, my fellow countrymen!

Running a country is a very complicated, delicate task!

You do your best and you are still accused of not doing your best!

WHO REALLY COULD HAVE MANAGED THIS ECONOMY BETTER THAN ME?

Now about the so-called rigging and the so-called-violence!

Your focus should be on the major issues!

Would we really stand by and allow Mr Blair to re-colonize our country, take away our Sovereignty and take over all our resources?

Would you allow someone to take your wife and you just stood by?

Please lets be very serious, Ladies and Gentlemen, Comrades and Friends!

About assassinations:be very careful!

This may break the whole Nation apart!

Who killed Cde Hebert Chitepo?

So why do you ask who killed General Josiah Magama Tongogara?

About the so-called "Truth and Reconciliation Commission!"

Where and when do we start?

Who will remain without blood on his hands?

Do you know how Dr Parerenyatwa died? Was it Smith's men or was it an internal struggle?

So will you raise the dead to ask them to testify?

Then last but not least: where in the world are "perfect people"?

The words "rigging", "assassinations" etc are English words!

Are they Shona words?

MUTIKWANIRE! (STOP THIS LUNACY!)

Please recognize me, rally behind me as your God-given father and lets move forward and re-build our Nation!

About the unfortunate isolated incidents in the Southern part of our country (the so-called "Gukurahundi Massacres"), please lets not open old wounds!

The Ndebeles can be very naive if they think we have forgotten their vicious raids against our peace-loving Shona people in the 1890s!

Please let all bye-gones be bye-gones!

MAY THE GOOD LORD ABOVE BE WITH YOU ALL!

Yours Faithfully,

ME.

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"MUGABE NOT TYPICAL DICTATOR!" CHURCH MAGAZINE!

2007-05-02T12:59:00.001+02:00

Standing Up to Mugabe

5/1/2007

http://www.catholic.org/views/views_news.php?id=23945

Commonweal Magazine: A Review of Religion, Politics and Culture

(www.commonwealmagazine.org)

Robert Mugabe is not a typical dictator. Unlike, say, Idi Amin or the former Liberian president Charles Taylor, Mugabe does not play the part of a thug. He wears natty suits, watches cricket, and reads the British press. He gets up early to practice yoga, drinks lots of tea but no alcohol, and switches artfully between a very proper English and Shona, the language of Zimbabwe's majority tribe.

In fact, despite his fierce opposition to British involvement in his country, Mugabe is in many ways a textbook Anglophile. His rhetoric may be ferociously anticolonial, but he still wants his children to learn the manners of British royalty.

But Mugabe is a dictator - and a particularly dangerous one. First elected as prime minister in 1980, the 83-year-old former school teacher has slowly destroyed his country's economy.

Zimbabwe was once the breadbasket of southern Africa but now depends on aid from the World Food Program, which estimates that 38 percent of the country's population is malnourished. This hunger is not mainly the result of natural famine but of greed and maladministration. In 2000, President Mugabe's government confiscated the land of the country's remaining white farmers and, in the name of justice and decolonization, gave it to his friends and political supporters, most of whom knew little about agriculture. The farms were neglected or destroyed, while the urban poor went hungry, many of them fleeing to South Africa. As James Kirchick recently reported for the New Republic, Zimbabwean state-run television now warns people not to set brushfires, which are being used to trap mice for food.

Mugabe and his cronies in the Zimbabwean African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) have often used hunger as a political weapon, directing aid to his party's rank and file, withholding it from those who support the country's beleaguered opposition party. Having made them hungry, he has also tried to make them invisible. In 2005 he began to "re-ruralize" a million Zimbabweans who lived in poor urban areas of Harare that voted against ZANU-PF candidates in that year's parliamentary elections. The campaign was called Operation Murambatsvina, which in Shona means "drive out filth."

Zimbabwe's catalogue of miseries is impressive, even by African standards. The rate of inflation is now well above 1,000 percent, the highest in the world; it is expected to reach 4,000 percent by the end of the year. This - and the 80 percent unemployment - make it hard, if not impossible, for the average Zimbabwean to buy even the most basic provisions. In 1990, the average life expectancy of Zimbabwean men was 62. Today, it's 37, the lowest in the world, though three years above the life expectancy of women.

Opposition to Mugabe's regime from within the country has been savagely punished, while criticism from outside has been scorned or ignored. Morgan Tsvangirai, a former union leader who now heads the Movement for Democratic Change, was beaten by Mugabe's police at a prayer meeting in early March. Forty-five other activists had to be hospitalized. Two were killed. Asked about Tsvangirai's beating, Mugabe replied, "Of course he was bashed. He deserved it. ... I told the police: 'Beat him a lot.'"

Until recently most of Zimbabwe's Catholic bishops were silent about Mugabe's misrule, but on April 1 they released a pastoral letter describing the government as "racist, corrupt, and lawless."

Sharp criticism from the United States and other Western countries has often seemed to help Mugabe, since it plays into his public image as a native hero beset by hostile colonial powers.

South Africa's leaders have discouraged what they describe as the "megaphone diplomacy" of the United States and Great Britain in favor of their own "quiet diplomacy." But, so far at least, these leaders have been better at the quiet than at the diplomacy. Although they privately acknowledge the urgency of the situation in Zimbabwe, they are still too reluctant to criticize Mugabe publicly, seeming to treat him as he wants to be treated - as a kind of Zimbabwean Nelson Mandela.

Perhaps the United States cannot do much, but it can do more: it can use every diplomatic and economic pressure available to let South Africa's leaders know that they must no longer enable and protect Mugabe.

If they refuse to listen to the United States and Europe, they should listen to Desmond Tutu, the former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town. Tutu laments that there is "hardly a word of concern let alone condemnation" about what is happening in Zimbabwe. "We Africans should hang our heads in shame. Do we really care about human rights, do we care that people of flesh and blood, fellow Africans, are being treated like rubbish, almost worse than they were ever treated by rabid racists?"

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SWRADIOAFRICA: FULL TWO-PART INTERVIEW WITH CHURCH LEADERS!

2007-04-30T10:42:00.001+02:00

SW Radio Africa Hot Seat Transcript

Interview: Zimbabwe Church leaders

Broadcast on 17 April 2007

Violet Gonda: On the programme Hot Seat we take a look at the role of the Church in Zimbabwe in finding a solution to the crisis. The Catholic Bishops Conference issued the most critical statement yet by the Church in Zimbabwe , in a Pastoral letter for Easter. It spoke prophetically and warned of more bloodshed and unrest and blamed the chaos on the leadership of the Mugabe regime.

To discuss this and the continuing debate on the church response to the crisis we have Bishop Trevor Manhanga (on the right) , the head of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe and head of delegation of the Zimbabwe National Vision Document that was launched last year. We also have Pastor Ray Motsi (on the left), the spokesperson of the Christian Alliance, the conveners of the Save Zimbabwe Campaign and Pius Ncube (in the middle), the Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo . Ncube is one of the Bishops who signed the Pastoral letter.

I began by asking Pastor Motsi for his response to the Pastoral letter.

Pastor Ray Motsi: first of all, I haven't actually seen the whole document, I've just had snippets of it because I've been away, but nevertheless, I think people can refer to it as hard-hitting. I personally believe that the Church needs to say the truth as they see it; whether other people actually believe it or not; but they need to say sincerely what they believe is the right thing. And therefore, if the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe has come to a point where they think they needed to say something about the situation in Zimbabwe , I think it's a welcome development within our country.

Violet : Bishop Manhanga, the Bishops, the Catholic Bishops concluded in their statement that the crisis in Zimbabwe is a crisis of governance and leadership and that is apart from being a spiritual and moral crisis. Do you agree with this?

Bishop Trevor Manhanga: Well, firstly Violet, I just wanted to say in your introduction you introduced me as the President of the Evangelical Alliance. I am the past President. I am the Chairman of Heads of Denominations, so just to make that correction.

Violet: OK

Bishop Trevor Manhanga: And then we'll go on to your question. I think, as Pastor Motsi has said, the Bishops in the Catholic Church have looked at the situation and they have felt, from their analysis, that's how they see the situation. I think its common knowledge to everybody in the Zimbabwean scenario that, yes, things are not right. To ascertain exactly what the problem is and where it has gone wrong is what everybody is trying to do. So, I think its well within the Catholic Bishops' right to look at the situation and to analyze how they see it.

Violet: And Archbishop Ncube, you wrote as the Catholic Bishops that many people in Zimbabwe are angry and that their anger is now erupting into open revolt in one township after another and that the country is in an extremely volatile situation. What has been the response from your parishioners so far?

Archbishop Pius Ncube: The Catholic parishioners have been very positive in their response. They felt that it is good we had talked and some of them said it was high time that we talked, this should have been said, they said, much earlier. So, they are pleased with the Pastoral letter and they think that we should look for ways to solve the situation so that it's not mere talk and it just ends in a mere letter.

Violet: And you know, this is, some have said, that it's very rare that Catholic Bishops have taken such a radical stance. Catholic Bishops have never come together in this way. Has this in any way got to do with the Pope?

Archbishop Ncube: No, well, the Pope usually leaves; well, because the Pope is not really in touch with the local situation, though he's got a representative in most countries, including Zimbabwe . But we ourselves felt, well, we got new blood also in our Bishops Conference last year, three Bishops were appointed, new ones. And so, perhaps some of us were getting kind of used to the situation you know and part of the new blood they said 'well, let's meet and really talk about this matter, we can't just let things drift'. So perhaps that's part of the reason.

Violet: And let me go back to Bishop Manhanga. The Church in Zimbabwe launched a document entitled 'The Zimbabwe We Want: Towards a National Vision'. What has happened with this initiative?

Bishop Trevor Manhanga: This initiative is going on Violet, as we speak we have put in place a secretariat, within the next week or so they will begin the outreach work in the provinces. In each province we'll be looking at two districts, talking to ordinary people and gathering the thoughts and responses of ordinary people. Now yes, we would have liked to have moved faster but we were hampered by several things, resources, putting in place the correct personnel. So, we would have loved to have been a bit further along the road but that initiative is still on-going and I think it will yield a good result at the end of the day.

Violet: And, you know, with the latest statement by the Catholic Church, do you feel that you've been out done by events in terms of your document?

Bishop Trevor Manhanga: No, no, no, far from it. This document is not like instant coffee that we are looking at something for tomorrow. This document is trying to gather consensus on a vision for the nation. Some people have said to us now that elections are coming up next year that does not alter what the document is going to do. Whoever emerges from the elections of 2008 will still be presented with the document from Zimbabweans saying 'this is the nation that we want'. It's not about personalities, it's not about parties, it's about the kind of country, Zimbabweans will want to live in and be governed by. So, no, it's not about being outdone by anybody or any process. We feel that the process we are going through is very legitimate and it will bring forth its fruit in season.

Violet: What about your thoughts on this Pastor Motsi as a member of what is seen as the much more radical Church coalition; the Christian Alliance. Do you think the Catholic Church has gone outside of the National Vision document?

Pastor Ray Motsi: Not at all. In fact the nature of the Church is that we all come from different, what I would call constituencies and schools of thought and therefore as entities we have the liberty and the room to be able to respond to the Zimbabwean situation from personal perspectives and yet at the same time we are able to come together at a point where we need to rally together as a nation. And therefore what is actually happening, for an example, as an example the three issues that you have raised, the National Vision document, the Save Zimbabwe Campaign and the Catholic Bishops' Pastoral letter, are all ideas and attempts by Churches who know that there is a crisis in Zimbabwe , and therefore these are attempts. I personally believe that when you put all that together then you can actually be able to understand that there is a Church that is actually active and working towards a goal and doing something about the situation in Zimbabwe.

Violet: And, Archbishop Ncube, you said at the time, some time last year that the National Vision document that was signed by the Church leaders was different from the final draft. Can you clarify on this?

Archbishop Pius Ncube: Yes, well, I mean the substance of it I think remains very much alike, but a few passages were removed before the launch of the document, especially those passages that were taken as rather radical. Then afterwards, our feeling was 'well, OK, if at least we have a document which also the Government respects, it remains, even in those passages that remained during the launch of that document, are still very critical of the Government. And I remember talking to one of the Ambassadors from Western countries, from France, he was actually saying 'well, it's amazing that the Government accepted the document to be launched because there is still so much that is very, very critical of Government even in that doctored statement'. So, in view of that, we felt that at least the Government will allow us to discuss it and not hinder us and not interfere, since it is a discussion document. Rather than having a document towards which the Government is negative and we thought that at least there are some positive aspects in us having a document accepted by both the Churches; the mainline Churches; and the Government.

Violet: Bishop Manhanga, how would you respond to this, that there are parts that were doctored and that there are some that would say that the National Vision document is a soft document and therefore lacked moral authority because it sought to appease the regime? How would you respond to this?

Bishop Trevor Manhanga: I think if anybody, in all fairness, looked at the document, it cannot be accused of being a 'soft document'. I agree with my brother, Archbishop Ncube. Look at the document in all fairness and it makes some very critical statements. We must give due respect, the Government accepted that and I think in accepting that they said that 'we acknowledge some of the things that are here and let's discuss'. For people then to say that it lacks moral authority is without any basis whatsoever. I think we must also understand that what we are trying to do, at least some of us within the Church, is to open space for dialogue. And, if we are going to open space for dialogue, I think one of the ways we are going to do that is to make everybody understand certain things. Being antagonistic deliberately does not necessarily help. So our approach was, yes, as the Archbishop has said, there were some statements which were removed and maybe were a bit difficult in terms of trying to take a step forward. Now, once that was done, and yes, as the Archbishop has said, it never lost the heart behind it and it still maintained that in essence. So I don't think we would buy the statement to say that it was a wholesale giving-in to any party. It is a draft, it was never meant to be the final copy. We are now hoping that it will set the stage for people to talk about some of the things in the document and also some of the things that people feel that are not in the document that people feel should be there. At least it gives us something to discuss.

Violet: And for the interests of the public, are you able to tell us which statements were taken out?

Bishop Trevor Manhanga: Well you know, there were eight drafts and it might be a bit difficult right now because I'd have to actually see some of the clauses. Some were not removed because they were offensive but maybe for better reading and because they were being duplicated somewhere else, some paragraphs were shortened be. So, it would be difficult to actually state which the different things that were taken out were, and some other things added in. Because, like I said there were about eight drafts that it went through.

Violet: And Archbishop Ncube, do you think that it's now time that the Church spoke with a more prophetic voice rather than just a priestly voice?

Archbishop Pius Ncube: Yes, I think that as the crisis deepens more and more we begin to be aware of the urgency of acting, so that perhaps in this case dialogue alone might not be enough. But I think internally we must also begin to put pressure on Government so that they normalize the situation because up to now they have been extremely intransigent. So many efforts were made, by Church leaders, by human rights groups, by representatives of nations' - Ambassadors, by the United Nation's Secretary General, the outgoing man, Kofi Annan and by African leaders. So much effort was made and the Government remained intransigent. So I think now the pressure must come from within, from locally. So, mere dialogue alone will not work with these people. We know what characters they are. We also need to put pressure on them to shake them up a bit.

Violet: And still on this issue about pressure Archbishop Pius Ncube, there are some who have asked, what more can the Church do. Now we know that Mugabe is a staunch Catholic and this is the first time that the Catholic Bishops have spoken out with one voice. If the regime continues to brutalize people, can the Church ex-communicate some of these people, including Mugabe himself, or withdraw communion from them?

Archbishop Pius Ncube: Ah, personally I'm thinking that it would have a negative effect. The man would become even more stubborn to ex-communicate him. So, I'm extremely skeptical whether it would be effective. In any case, the first person to move it would have to be the Archbishop of Harare where Mugabe is resident, and I don't think he would be likely to make that move. You see, sometimes the Church is very careful not to use its spiritual status as a weapon; as a pressure weapon; especially where someone might react even more stubbornly, causing even more suffering on the local people and become perhaps even more violent than he already is.

Violet: Pastor Motsi, what more can the Church do?

Pastor Motsi : I think it's important for us to understand, especially your last question as to whether the Church needs to be more, what's the right word? Needs to be sharper in its rebuke and in the way in which we do things. I personally believe it is. I think there is a time where we need to be able to try all kinds of ways in which to persuade the Government and everybody who is wrong and perpetuating this kind of problems that we face in Zimbabwe . But, if that doesn't work, I personally believe that the words of the Prophet needs to be very clear, not only in the level of the voices but also in terms of what exactly needs to be done. And partly, prophetic voices need to be put into action and these actions ought to be brought to bear especially to everybody. And, I personally believe that the problem of Zimbabwe is not only those that are causing the suffering and the crisis, but it's also those that are keeping quiet in the suffering, and those that are aligning those people that are causing the problem. That to me is what the problem is and therefore the prophetic voice needs to be very clear in order to tell everybody that the situation in Zimbabwe does not need anybody from Britain or America or, South Africa , for that matter. It is us Zimbabweans who must come together. Each and everyone of us playing a role and the Church ought to be right at the beginning because judgment begins at the House of God. And, therefore, all these attempts that the Church is making. And, I personally believe that the time is coming where we are beginning to be very clear in terms of who we are and what we want because of the mandate and the mission of the Church's own scripture.

Violet: Do you think there should be a more proactive move by the Church to actually bring the two political parties together, you know this is over and above what the Regional leaders are trying to do, Thabo Mbeki in particular.

Pastor Ray Motsi: Well, I personally believe the idea is that people need to come together first. Our salvation does not come from political parties. That is all-important and I personally believe that the politicians continue to divide people, whether it's MDC versus MDC or MDC versus ZANU PF. And yet, the people ought to be together because it is us who are supposed to determine where this country is supposed to be going, not ZANU PF or MDC.

Violet: And Bishop Manhanga, you know the Church is obliged to work with the Government but at what point does the situation become so bad that the Church is obliged to confront it?

Bishop Trevor Manhanga: When you talk about confronting the Government, what sort of confrontation are you talking about? I think that's what you've got to realize. I think that everybody that looks at the Zimbabwe problem has got to understand one thing, at the end of the day we have to engage Government. They are the people who are in power, who are ruling the country, and, no matter what we do, whether as Churches or as Opposition, even the Thabo Mbeki initiative now, is premised on the fact that we are going to engage Government. So, if we are going to engage Government, as I see it, it's important that that engagement is done in a way that is none provocative because you want to reach a settlement. Now, if you want to reach a settlement with somebody, by provoking that person, I don't think that it's in the best interests of everybody that you begin by provocation. You try and begin by persuasion that's why I lean towards the side of saying let us try and persuade both the Government and the Opposition about things that we would want to see discussed. If we are unhappy with things that Government is doing, let's engage them, let's talk to them. I still feel that there is no alternative to talking. I would like people to tell me, what is the alternative? Violence? Armed Conflict? And I think that's an option that I would want to propose, I don't think that Zimbabweans should want to think that way because nobody wins in a situation where destruction takes place, violence takes place. There are no winners! I would lean on the side of persuasion; dialogue, dialogue. That is what we've got to do.

Violet: So has, you know you said on the issue of engagement, you know you said it should be done it should be non provocative. Now, has the Church engaged the Government on the issue of violence? Has the Church actually appealed to the Government to halt the abuses, the human rights abuses?

Bishop Trevor Manhanga: Look, I don't think there's anyone Violet who would sanction what happened last month in Harare . Nobody sanctions that. It was wrong, it shouldn't have happened. Now, simply because we are not coming in the newspapers does not mean we are not engaging Government. We are engaging Government at the highest level to make a case that that should not happen again. And, in fact in our engagement we have been told that there have been people arrested. Our position is 'OK, let's see if the Courts will convict these people, because we have Courts and let's see what happens'. I would like to believe that our Courts are still competent. We still remember that Morgan Tsvangirai was acquitted of treason; there have been other cases where people have been acquitted. And, I would say to the Government if there are people who are alleged to have done anything, let them be arrested, they must not be brutalized, they must not be beaten, and let the Courts take their action which is what should happen. So that kind of work is ongoing Violet I can assure you. We are discussing with the powers that be, expressing ourselves and we trust that there will come a time when this thing will be seen openly.

Violet : Archbishop Ncube, what are your thoughts on this? If in private the Government has been told to stop the abuses and it still continues is it not time to publicly condemn the Government?

Archbishop Pius Ncube: You see I'm not sure whether I got your question properly, but if it's a matter of none provocation of the Government, we've had this Government for the last 27 years. We know who they are and we know the characters of all those people there. Bishop Trevor Manhanga himself was part of what was called the Troika. How long did they speak with these people? Three years from 2003 to 2005, from 2002 to 2005, they were trying to get ZANU PF to talk to the Opposition, all to no avail. If I heard properly, (Catholic Bishop Patrick) Mutumwa said that they met something like 45 times with ZANU PF, 41 times with MDC. All to no avail. We know that Archbishop Ndungane of Cape Town came to talk to President Mugabe, all to no avail. We know that a number of African President including Thabo Mbeki, Chissano, Mkapa of Tanzania, Muluzi of Malawi, the Nigerian President Obasanjo and I think as well as others, talked with Mugabe; all to no avail.

So what is meant by non-provocation? Must we kow tow to these people? These people have shown total disregard for human rights and are clinging to power at all costs to the detriment of Zimbabweans. They continue at our cost, they continue printing money at any time so that they cause inflation. Inflation right now is 4000%. That 1700% is incorrect because they are taking it on the official price which is not practiced. The official price of bread is 825; the real price of bread in the shop is 5000, so they are not being correct, right? Kofi Annan talked to that man, Kofi Annan is a high up official. The Pope has sent messages appealing for peace. So if these people don't listen then the Zimbabweans have a right to non violent civil disobedience and they cannot go on kow-towing to these people while we are being sunk to the ground. It's the eighth year now! Eight years since this thing started with this grabbing of commercial land and unplanned fast track activities. This Government is not people centered. So if we are appealing to them and we talk to them, the Catholic Bishops have engaged President Mugabe on dialogue, I was part of the delegation. Anyhow, having tried everything with time, we just have to put pressure through civic disobedience. We cannot just go on being sweet to these people.

Violet: Now this is the same question that I'm going to ask Pastor Ray Motsi, that Bishop Manhanga said that just because they don't report in the media the appeals that mediators are making to the Government, especially in connection with the violence that has been taking place in Zimbabwe . And also, Thabo Mbeki and the SADC leaders also said that they had appealed to the Mugabe regime for peace, and this was in private. Now my question is, if all these appeals that the mediators are making in private, if they are not yielding any results, is it not time for the mediators to actually publicly criticize the regime, Pastor Motsi?

Pastor Ray Motsi: Well I personally believe that every Zimbabwean has got a right to respond to this Government and any other Government for that matter in the manner in which he or she feels they need to because any Government is supposed to be by the people, for the people and from the people. And therefore, every Zimbabwean has got a right to respond. And, I also want to in some way agree with what my colleagues on the Conference except to differ with Trevor in the sense that non violence, peaceful is very confrontational. It's based on the reality of what is actually going on. And therefore, if you cannot actually agree on the basis of the truth on the ground, there is no basis for engagement. And therefore, as long as we as Church says there is something wrong and the Government says there is nothing wrong, there's no basis for engagement and therefore there is a sense in which people will have to come and speak out. It's exactly like a father in the house is in a disagreement with his children. Now, there are other children who are very conciliatory in their approach, others will simply keep quiet and others will say 'well dad, if you are not really willing to respond to me, I'm going to do my own thing.' But that is the kind of crisis and the kind of response that you have in any country. You actually have people that will respond in a conciliatory way, there are others who would say 'hey listen, if you are not prepared to be my father and behave like a father, why should I be a child to you when in actual fact, you are not responding to my needs'.

Violet: Bishop Manhanga?

Pastor Ray Motsi: That is basically what is going on, you see

Bishop Manhanga: All I'm saying is what is the nature of the resistance that the Church should be taking? I think that unfortunately what happens is that we are not coming up with the kind of definition and therefore when the Church wants to express itself their actions are usurped by other people and they become violent. I don't believe it's Church people, but because of the situation in Zimbabwe , even if the Church was to have a peaceful demonstration, it can easily be overtaken by other elements and then it becomes violent and then we get the police coming in and you see, there's that snowball effect. So I think it would be counterproductive. In this volatile situation we all need to exercise restraint. I think speaking to Government at various levels, I don't think you can come across anybody who will say that everything is right in Zimbabwe . They acknowledge that things are not right. The question is how do we get out of the problems that we have and correct the things that are wrong. That is the issue. I don't think that even on ZANU PF's side they are saying that everything is alright in the country.

Violet: So how would you answer your own question, because, as Archbishop Pius Ncube pointed out, you were part of the Troika that has been trying to bring the two, the political parties together, or trying to find a peaceful solution to the crisis. But, you know, nothing has actually changed.

Bishop Manhanga: Yes.

Violet Gonda: So what is the nature of resistance that the Church can take now?

Bishop Trevor Manhanga: Look, as I said, at the end of the day, I don't know of any conflict in the world, which is settled through fighting. At the end of the day, people put pressure but they still come to the table to negotiate. I don't think that all the discussions we had were a total waste of time. I don't think so. I think Zimbabwe could have been further down an abyss of conflict had we not tried to discuss and bring people to some understanding. Yes, the crisis may not have been resolved in a timeous manner as we would have wanted, but I think that we must also look on the positive side that there's worse things that could have happened that haven't happened. So, I think that despite the fact that we may not have come out of the problems that we are in, still, I will still hold on to the point that we must continue with our efforts to bridge the gap between the differing parties in Zimbabwe and we must talk to them. Whether we agree with them or not we must still talk and dialogue

Violet Gonda: Next week the clerics argue on the nature of resistance or the activism they should embark on as a church, and we also hear their views on the state of the opposition in Zimbabwe . Archbishop Ncube reiterates that non-violent methods should be pursued and Manhanga says the door to talks is still open.

Audio interview can be heard on SW Radio Africa 's Hot Seat programme (17 April 07).

NB:

SW Radio Africa is back on MULTIPLE frequencies.   Broadcasts are between 7:00 and 9:00 pm Zimbabwe time on shortwave; in the 25m band 11775kHz, 11810kHz, 12035kHz and in the 60m band 4880kHz. Also via the internet at www.swradioafrica.com

Hot Seat interview: Zimbabwe Church leaders part 2

Bishop Trevor Manhanga (on the right), the Chairman of Heads of Denominations and head of delegation of the Zimbabwe National Vision Document that was launched last year, Pastor Ray Motsi (on the left), the spokesperson of the Christian Alliance (the conveners of the Save Zimbabwe Campaign) and Pius Ncube (in the middle), the Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo. Ncube is one of the Bishops who signed the Pastoral letter.

Broadcast on 24 April 2007

Violet Gonda: Welcome to the concluding debate with church leaders Bishop Trevor Manhanga, Pastor Ray Motsi and Archbishop Pius Ncube. In this part of the discussion we hear the church leaders' views on the opposition in Zimbabwe but first, Pastor Motsi picks up from where the discussion ended last week on the issue of what form of resistance the Church should be engaging in right now.

Pastor Ray Motsi: I think we need to be very clear. The problem in Zimbabwe is not an MDC/ZANU PF problem. The problem is people in Zimbabwe are suffering. For your own information some members of the MDC and ZANU PF are actually living pretty. They may not actually feel the suffering of the people in Zimbabwe and therefore to continue to actually think that the problem in Zimbabwe is ZANU PF and MDC whilst the majority of the people we have 90% of unemployment and people cannot afford a meal a day I think the more we continue to think that the problem is at that level and that the ordinary people who are voiceless, who are harmless, they are marginalized I think we are doing a disservice to God. Our mandate and our mission from the Church is from the bible. What does the bible say about the situation in Zimbabwe? I think it's a bad situation, it's an evil situation because people are suffering and I think that is what we must talk about.

Violet: And also I would like to go back to the question that Bishop Manhanga asked and I think it's very important and its also to do with the issue of the way forward. Archbishop Ncube what is the nature of resistance that the Church should take right now?

Archbishop Pius Ncube: I think we can learn from South Africa. In South Africa they were dealing with the Apartheid government and they held meetings sometimes they held marches even to the risks of being shot while they marched. The Pastors would march in front and they organized a whole lot of activities to put pressure on the government. They even negotiated that sanctions should be imposed on the Apartheid government and that was agreed to by the western powers. The loans and so on were embargoed and so forth. So we must learn from them. Churches must stop this sweet-talk and engage now into putting pressure which will cause the government to bend. You see in South Africa they were dealing with hardliners there white people who had been 350 years there and they didn't want to let go. They thought they had a divine right to rule but there had to be a lot of pressure to arm twist them to force them to the table. So these people have to be forced to the table by lots of other pressure rather than sweet-talk. Marches, protests, prayer services and training people on how to avoid I think Churches must have some kind of contract together with civil bodies to have a common front and to have common actions with trade unions and so forth. Non-violent action. There must be a contract to bring the government down if they are refusing to negotiate. We cannot be sweet anymore with these people who have oppressed us. It's the 8 th year running now.

Violet: Bishop Manhanga can you see your group signing up or supporting this kind of activism?

Bishop Manhanga: Well look Violet, I think that for our part, I don't think we have reached the stage whereby the doors to government, and I agree with Pastor Ray Motsi this is not an issue of the politicians alone, we are trying to deal with the people who are in government. I don't think joining up with the people some of the civil society groups may not have the same objectives as the Church and the noble objectives of the Church may be usurped by some of these other groups. And I feel it is very dangerous. That's where we get sucked in even though we may want to make a non violent demonstration or we may want to make a non violent street march to air our grievances. That quickly because we are bringing other elements in who do not share our commitment to non violence and Christian principles and then what happens? The very thing the Church is trying to prevent is what becomes on the ground destruction of property, destruction of life. And I say I cannot be part of that because we don't want to lose people's lives unnecessarily because at this time the doors to talk are still open. I hear what my brother Archbishop Pius is saying but I think that, look the time has not yet arrived as I see it whereby we say 'it is a total waste of time talking to government.' I think we must still talk to them, I think we have not gone over the precipice. That is my personal opinion. I think we should do whatever we can and then if the time comes when we say that we are not making any progress and we are dealing with a government that doesn't want to listen totally to us then obviously the Church has to re-look and say 'ok we have been doing all these things there is no improvement what do we do?'

Violet: What about you thoughts Pastor Motsi, it seems Zimbabwe has become too polarized and also tend to be too passionate about the crisis that people tend to pick one side or another. Or that they don't want to hear the truth because they want change. Now do you think we should have higher morality of opposition leaders?

Pastor Ray Motsi: Without any doubt. Obviously our quest is that those that are into politics and those that aspire to get into political positions must be people that are of higher regard for the law and morality for this nation and human rights. And therefore we actually desire to see people who are of high caliber to occupy such echelons of political authority. I think I need to contribute to this argument concerning the argument of the approach that we must take. I think whilst we approach the problem of Zimbabwe from diverse point of departures the aim and the reason must be the same. The aim is to bring about a desired goal which is, as far as I am concerned, transformation of every aspect. We need a multiplicity of approaches in order to pressurize the powers that be and everybody else who is involved, including the politicians to behave in a manner that the people of Zimbabwe want. Not what they want. Rather than them telling us what is right we Zimbabweans we need to tell the leaders what is right and therefore the multiplicity of approaches will actually help us in understanding that there is no one group that has got the monopoly of truth and the monopoly of know how of how best to deal with the problem of Zimbabwe at the moment. I think there is need for some stakeholders' approach to come together to deal with this issue. It's a Zimbabwean problem and therefore Zimbabweans need to come together. That's my case as far as this is concerned.

Violet: And Archbishop Ncube on the issue of political parties there are some people who say we ignored that aspect of Robert Mugabe that was dictatorial from the beginning and that we are ignoring this issue in the MDC. Now do you think there needs to be some kind of truth speaking when dealing with the opposition?

Archbishop Pius Ncube: Yes I think the tendency is that Robert Mugabe's behavior has tended to be seen as standard, unconsciously. You see this man has been sitting on our backs for the last 27 years and so unconsciously we take in even some of his bad behavior as though it's alright. So it's wrong for people in the opposition to take the party, their party as though they are the owners of the party. The people can always change and get some other party but there is this possessiveness amongst some people even in the opposition you find it. I heard that a party leader was saying 'over his dead body would he allow anyone else would take over his leadership even in the opposition.' Now that attitude is wrong. They must be humble enough to allow the people to choose another leader you can always start something good. Let others take over and continue it you don't have to cling to it.

Violet: Bishop Manhanga, your views on the opposition.

Bishop Manhanga: Violet I think the problem we make hear let's look even with President Mugabe. President Mugabe is the leader of ZANU PF but ZANU PF is made up of so many people. I think that if people are unhappy with a particular leader, and I use that analogy, they should form their own party. I am saying that often times we say the problem is Mugabe, what about the people in ZANU PF. We say that the problem is Morgan Tsvangirai but what about the people in the MDC? All Zimbabweans even in the Zimbabwean problem are complicit. We must ask ourselves as Pastor Ray said, 'what have we done in the situation?' So, when we talk about the opposition, I think if people are not happy, for example, with Tsvangirai's leadership, if they don't follow the laid down procedures in their party then they must form their own party. If they are not happy with Mutambara it's no use sitting there saying 'this man is a dictator' but you don't want to do anything about the problem. That's the problem. Everybody says these things but at the time when something should be done everybody cops out or chickens out and that's the problem. I think we get the kind of leaders we deserve at the end of the day!

Violet: But Pastor Motsi what are your views on this. Do you think that is the solution that if you are not happy with a particular leadership then you form your own party?

Pastor Ray Motsi: I think in a true democracy that would actually be true there is no reason why anybody could actually form his own party or her own party if they so wish. But again going back to Bishop Manhanga's point earlier on, I personally believe as a nation we need to learn to have conflict resolution and know how to handle our conflicts in a manner that will make us better people in the future because we are learning from our mistakes. But as it is there is no indication at all of learning from the past in order for us to have a better future and therefore I personally believe that history is coughing at us because instead of learning from it we are actually making, in my own opinion, blunders that even history itself never saw. And as a result I find it extremely, extremely difficult that as Zimbabweans it seems we are not mature there is no tolerance in term that people cannot actually be in the same room and in the same country holding different opinion and views and coming from different schools of thought. We don't have to think that because I have a different view it means I got it from outside the country. It means that us as Zimbabweans are so stupid that we can never come up with new ideas of how to actually handle our situation and that to me it is so bad and unfortunate in our country.

Violet: And as the conveners of the Save Zimbabwe Campaign does this problem exist in the pro-democracy movement?

Pastor Ray Motsi: WellI think it's a Zimbabwean problem to be honest with you. I think its Zimbabwean problem. You can see it manifesting in all kinds of areas of our country and I personally believe I'm of the opinion that whilst a few people have had a very strong nationalist perspective not all Zimbabweans have had such a nationalistic approach as is needed in order for us to go forward as a nation.

Violet: And Archbishop Ncube in terms of the Zimbabwe recovery plan, do you have greater hopes for a reformed ZANU PF or what you see in the MDC?

Archbishop Pius Ncube: The thing is perhaps it is possible that there can be a reformed ZANU PF but up to now the history of ZANU PF that we have had in the last 27 years where as soon as they are threatened they become violent. For the last month they have been abducting up to 600 people and torturing them, beating them, some they have even killed. So I think a party is judged by its activities. The people of Zimbabwe have by now lost confidence in ZANU PF let them try other parties because the way I see it its tainted, heavily tainted this party. There can always be new parties. Some parties rise and die and new parties formed. In regards to the MDC also, well it still has to prove itself. Some people speak very nicely before they are in power but once they are in power sometimes they do exactly the same thing the oppressor was doing. I mean Mugabe took over from Rhodesia Front but now he is trying exactly the same tactics, which he was denouncing. So hopefully if another party rolls and takes over power it doesn't do exactly the same mistakes but people should always be given the liberty to change leadership when they are dissatisfied. But ZANU PF believes that we are their property so arrogant are they they think that we are their property. And the idea of leaving ZANU PF to start another party, we know very well that any party, which becomes very strong, would be intimidated. As long as the party is weak they have no problems with it. But as soon as a party is a threat to them, like ZAPU was a threat to them and MDC is a threat to them then they will thrash it. They use violence that is their classical code. Use violence to bash the people so that they remain, you imbibe them to stay in ZANU PF. It is as though ZANU PF is an end in itself it should be a means to an end not an end in itself.

Violet: Your thoughts Bishop Manhanga.

Bishop Manhanga: You see Violet, what I would say is that just recently the ZANU PF Central Committee sat together. If within ZANU PF people are opposed to President Mugabe being the leader why didn't they stand up in that meeting and say 'we don't want Mugabe to lead us into the next election?' I think once the Central Committee has endorsed it they had been given a chance within the party. I come to the MDC they have Congress. Once they endorse Morgan Tsvangirai as their President, well I find it difficult that people start fighting saying this person is an oppressor he is not our leader. I don't know the internal mechanization within this party, but I am saying if Zimbabweans whether in MDC or ZANU PF are not happy with the leadership surely they have an opportunity to express themselves within their various party caucuses and inline with their constitution. And when you don't see this happening I think then that is a great indictment on us as Zimbabweans if at those particular points within our political structures we are afraid or we are what's the word? Cowards - that we can't stand up. But once a person has been endorsed I'm in no position to say this person should not lead this party. That is within their part and whoever they choose that is their choice.

Violet: And my question was, and that is the question that I had also asked Archbishop Ncube, in terms of the Zimbabwe recovery plan do you have greater hopes for a reformed ZANU PF or MDC?

Bishop Manhanga: You know this is my desire Violet. I think Zimbabwe can turn around because Zimbabwe has got an amazing amount of talent both within ZANU PF and MDC and outside of politics. If we could tap into those people and not just look at people along party lines I am telling you this country would be the Switzerland of Africa. It would be an amazing place to live. I think that's where we should go in the future. We should put Zimbabwe first not our party, not our allegiance to any leader. We have got amazing people of all political persuasions. So I am not really looking towards a reformed ZANU PF or a transformed MDC. I am looking to whoever forms the next government in this country to have a patriotic fervor that looks at people and what they have to offer. If we do that we have a tremendous chance to turn this country around.

Violet: Pastor Motsi?

Pastor Ray Motsi: I think we really need to put aside a patriotic and nationalist bigotry where patriotism and nationalism is actually defined along party lines because Zimbabwe is for all Zimbabweans who are here whether they are aligned themselves with party politics or not. And the question you asked is about the hope for transformation. On a personal level not representing CA (Christian Alliance) per say or Save Zimbabwe per say, I personally believe we have had ZANU PF for all these years and they have had their chance to actually transform this nation and therefore from a political point of view I really wish that there would really be transformation because ZANU PF itself is not actually transforming. It's not actually transforming the situation to a point where everybody in Zimbabwe is beginning to enjoy the benefits. Therefore I think everybody is looking for a wholesome transformation in Zimbabwe. Now I don't know whether the MDC is the party that will actually bring the kind of desired transformation that is needed in this country. But it's transformation we need and I think desperately.

Violet: And before we go Pastor Motsi a final word?

Pastor Ray Motsi: My final word is that the Zimbabwean people need to come together to begin to actually work together in a way in which that only us as Zimbabweans will be able to bring about the change and transformation in this country in a non violent peaceful way and conflict resolution. Because we do have conflicts and we need those things to be resolved in a manner that will help us. But I also believe that one of the key aspects that we have is a constitution and I don't think we can actually transform the nation willy nilly without having touched the constitution and therefore that is an important aspect that also needs to be touched and brought onto the national agenda because it is not a ZANU PF issue neither is it an MDC issue. It is a Zimbabwean issue. That is my conclusion.

Bishop Manhanga: Violet we are going to elections probably within the next 12 months or so. My desire and my hope is that these elections will not be characterized by what we have seen in the past. We would want an electoral process that is agreed upon and acceptable to all parties prior to, during and after the process. And after that electoral process let's all come together. Let's have a situation whereby we can all embrace the winner or winners of that election and know that for the next five years we are going to build the country together. This country cannot afford another disputed electoral process which leads to further polarisation, further isolation, further antogonisation and bloodshed. So I pray and I hope that we will get that kind of situation and next year as we go to elections if they are all harmonized we agree as Zimbabweans to accept those results. Once they are out we accept them and then we agree to meet after five years again in another electoral process that will give us a chance to start again as a nation.

Violet: And Archbishop Pius Ncube.

Archbishop Pius Ncube: People of Zimbabwe as well as all Africa they must stop this business of putting their politicians on the pedestal. We have destroyed ourselves by over admiring these politicians. We must hold our politicians accountable to us. They were elected by us to work for us and now they are making themselves masters over us and they are so arrogant and people sink deeper and deeper into suffering. So the idea of operating outside political frames that will not be possible in Zimbabwe because we are hindered by laws and these people are not allowing us to change and you can be sure that they are not keen about the change of the constitution because they will lose power. So let Zimbabweans be brave enough to hold their politicians accountable and when the politicians fail in their accountability and they are no longer people centered let Zimbabweans be courageous enough to bring them down! To derail them because they have failed. This idea of sweet-talk, carrying on both shoulders when people have shown explicitly in every way for a good 27years that they are not people centered, that they are dictatorial, that they are murderers, that they are liars we cannot continue with it. Let Zimbabweans be courageous enough to hold their politicians accountable and if they don't live up to the mandate given to them let them kick them out and bring them down by civic disobedience.

Violet: Archbishop Pius Ncube, Bishop Trevor Manhanga and Pastor Ray Motsi thank you very much for participating on the programme Hot Seat.

Thank you Violet.

Violet: And next week we talk to political leaders Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai, Professor Arthur Mutambara and civic leader Dr Lovemore Madhuku.

Comments and feedback can be emailed to violet@swradioafrica.com

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CELL-PHONES HAVE BROUGHT HEAD-ACHES IN RELATIONSHIPS!

2007-04-25T15:05:00.001+02:00

Marriages in a cell phone era!

By Masuzyo Chakwe and pictures by Abel Mambwe

Sunday April 22, 2007

http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=25563&page=1

Bemba. Insert is his battered wife

THE cellular phone, a modern innovation continues to change in size and shape: the smaller it is getting, the bigger the problems this thing is bringing.

In Africa and Zambia to be specific, this piece of technology continues to transform communication.
Some spouses have sworn that this gadget is nothing but a conduit of infidelity and deals.

Aside its potential health impacts, its so amazing that a palm size innovation could wreck so much havoc in homes, force governments to alter laws to accommodate it and make marriages almost disposable when marriages were meant to last, according to the Bible.

Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) executive director Katembu Kaumba says cell phones have brought problems in most homes.

"There was a woman who was complaining that her husband goes with the phone in the bathroom because he doesn't want her to answer the phone. And at times she would answer the phone but he would react violently," she says.
Kaumba says it cannot be denied that cell phones have brought a lot of problems.

Quiet all right, it has simplified many people's lives but others argue that the cell phone has brought more problems socially than solutions.
Other women say most men have become prisoners to their own phones.

When at home, they either change Sim Cards to avoid the wife discovering their extramarital affairs.
Some do not leave the cell phone unattended to.

"My husband sleeps with it. In the night he sends SMS while covering himself in the beddings. He removes the tones so that I do not hear him sending. He tells me he is playing games but I wonder what games," says one woman who declines to be identified.
This theory is called Read and Delete or put simply, R and D.
It means the receiver of the text messages deletes them immediately after reading so that their spouse does not have access to them.

In 2005 a woman had a mobile mouthful.
In the United States a spouse driven to the breaking point had no other choice than to swallow the husband's cell phone.
The woman was a victim of cell phone rage.
According to The Kansas City Star, the woman swallowed her boyfriend's mobile in mid-argument because "she didn't want the boyfriend to have it."

The phone became lodged in the lady's throat, and she was rushed to the emergency room.

"Police responded to a call about a non-breathing person about 4:50 a.m. in the 3000 block of Southwest US 40," the paper reported. "Police arrived and found that the 24-year-old woman was having trouble breathing. Her identity was not released."
The poor woman still had the phone wedged in her throat when she got to the hospital.

Later police started pursuing another line of argument, which was that the cell phone might have been shoved under the woman's throat.

Whatever the case, cell phones have been used by people to lie over their whereabouts to their spouses or even business partners in cases where they owe that person money.
Most marriages are fraught with problems conceived by the cellular phone.

Brenda Milimo, 40 from Kabwata and has been married for 12 years says cell phones have brought a lot of problems in marriages.
Milimo said a man wants to check the woman's cell phone when he can't allow her to check his and that creates suspicion and problems.

Milimo says she does not mind her husband checking her phone but he gets offended if she gets his.
She says the feeling of security in a marriage should be two sided but its usually one sided in marriages.

Milimo says men are usually insecure in marriage.
"If he wants to check my phone, I should be able to check his because if he refuses then there is something wrong and this brings problems of suspicion and it happens," says Milimo.

The question is why is such a small gadget awash with problems?
Some spouses have earned themselves assaults from their husbands for failure to disclose their cellular phone's pin numbers.
Recently, a 34-year-old married woman from Lusaka's Kabwata Estates Musonda Manda was severely battered by her husband for refusing to give him her pin number for her phone.

Later the husband brought a chain of text messages from the woman to the hubby and what started a case of battery is slowly having its own twists.

Manda argues that a husband or wife should not have access to either's phone because a cell phone is a private thing.
She says she knows that when two people are married they become one but every body is entitled to some form of privacy at one time.
"There are certain things I want to talk about with my girlfriends and I don't want my husband to know about so he should respect that just as I have to respect that there are certain things that he would want to discuss with his friends," she says.

Some people will agree with Manda that a person is entitled to some privacy as stipulated in the constitution but this will raise some argument for other people.
Is it fine for a husband to answer his wife's phone or read her messages? Is it wrong for a wife to answer or read his husband's messages?

Some men argue that if he buys a phone for his wife, then he has the right to access it at any given time.
Others will argue that if he buys it for her, then it means it is hers; he should not have anything to do with it. Maybe the only thing he should do is service it: feeding it with talk-time whenever it runs out.
Kabwe Chewe, 40, from Chilenje, says he is entitled to a woman's cellular phone but not a woman checking his.

Kabwe has been married for the last 12 years and says normally a man's cell phone should be secretive but he must have access to his wife's phone.

Chewe says the issue of gender is spoiling a lot of things.
"I am entitled to her cell phone but she is not entitled to mine because women over react over simple things. I can receive a message or a call from a woman over work, she won't understand and might over react. This gender thing is spoiling a lot of things" he says.

However, Brasio Kasaila, 31, from Chilenje says in marriage there should be no privacy because when they get married they become one body. It depends on how a couple takes it.
Kasaila says communication is important in a relationship.
"If you think it's not okay then that's up to you but with me, my wife is free to read my messages and I am free to read hers, the cardinal point is trust," he says.

Wanawito Silwimba, 29 from Chelston has been married for five years and says both a man and woman have the right to answer or read each other's messages.
Silwimba says if a person wants privacy then he or she should have a private line.

"If you want to hide things, have another line that you will only use for those things because I believe if she doesn't want me to go through her phone then there is a problem. I don't check my wife's phone but she checks mine, unless people are primitive, this shouldn't create any problems. When you marry someone there should be some form of trust, it's a matter of trust. In the five years that I have been married, I have never beaten my wife over anything," he says.
Benjamin from Kabwata says his phone is his wife's phone and vice versa.

He says he answers her phone and she does the same.
Benjamin says he has never attempted to read his wife's messages because it is not necessary.

"This is our 17th year in marriage and I don't read her messages because its her personal thing, if she is bathing and the phone is ringing I can answer it but if she is near I shout for her and I don't care if it's her male mate. She is a workingwoman and we all come from different backgrounds, she doesn't work with women alone. Like with me, I have many sisters so most people I know are women so a phone should not bring problems," he says.

Daisy Zulu, 52 from Kabwata has been married for 32 years and says she has had no problems with the phone.
But Zulu says a woman should have some form of privacy.
"We are one but you know how men are, he can't allow you to check his phone but he would want to check yours which is not fair. I don't check his and he doesn't check mine," she says.

She says men are selfish and even when a woman wants to use their phones, they don't give.
"We believe in sharing but we should also respect each other's rights," says Zulu.

Malcom Lubasi says only the guilty should be afraid
"My wife does answer my phone and she does read my SMS messages. All you need to do if you have a 'girlfriend' is give your 'girlfriend' conditions under which they may call you or send you a message. If they do send you one at work, make sure you delete it immediately (remember RD theory). Besides, when you are married, you must always let wakumbalis know you are married and that they respect your spouse. Anything short of that may be your nemesis," he says.

Obby Masamu, 38 from Kabwata says traditionally a woman is supposed to be submissive and a husband is supposed to tell a woman what to do.
"When you are getting married, you know what you are getting yourself into and its for their (women) own protection," he says.
Masamu says a husband is entitled to the wife's cell phone while the woman is not.

Bradford Phiri, 30 says if he buys a phone for his wife or girlfriend then he has to have access to it.
"I mean I bought that phone for her because I want to be communicating with her and she should not use it to call other people especially if I am the one who buys the talk time because women have got that tendency of paging you even when you buy her talk time so you wonder who she calls with my talk time. This is why men get upset because I used my money and she should respect and understand that. If she wants to be calling other people let her buy herself another phone but that will still give me the right to check in her phone," he says.

"You know with men, things are different and there are so many things that we discuss as men that are not for women's consumption and because men are more equal than women and it is always going to be like that no matter how much women fight for their rights so women will always have to do what a man says."

Brebnar Changala, 46, from Kabwata has been married for the past 13 years. He says the issue of cell phones is a very difficult gesture because it borders on privacy.

He says going through someone's cell phones is an intrusion in one's privacy but it goes without saying that biblically in marriage, people are one and when one questions the other then it means that they are two.

Changala says criminals, businessmen, youths and adults use the cell phone and it carries a lot of positive and negative things.
"There are a lot of things that wives do that they do want their husbands to know about and a man should not use his masculine power to invade the privacy of the wife while women don't have the same privilege. We should respect each other's phone for the sake of peace and I don't interfere with my wife's phone," he says.

However, Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) executive director Katembu Kaumba says for what she feels, there is a right to privacy and every individual has a right to privacy.
Kaumba says each individual has that right that should be respected.

She says there should be open communication.
"What lacks I think, is lack of communication. The spouse would want to know what the other spouse is doing but they don't communicate and this comes from the way we are socialised, women are told not to question their husbands," she says.
Kaumba says women are taught to believe that whatever is theirs is their husbands' and that is how women are brought up.

She says men want to know and read what their wives are doing.
"Why not ask her. Don't go looking for something that will hurt you. You will find a message that says 'Thanks for last night', you will think that it was sex but it might have been dinner and it was coded, for you, you will not understand and that is why I say communication is important in a relationship," she says.

"We offer couple counselling, there are couples that come here where maybe the husband is complaining that the wife is always going to kitchen parties and when he ask her, you will hear that the husband has no time for her and she may want to go out but the husband never takes her so communicate."

Kaumba says cell phones are breaking a lot of homes.
"There was a woman who was complaining that her husband goes with the phone in the bathroom because he doesn't want her to answer the phone and at times where she would answer the phone, he would react violently," she says.
She says it cannot be denied that cell phones have brought a lot of problems.

Well, the issue of cell phones is something that will remain debatable for a long time and whether it is okay for a husband and wife to read each other's messages or answer one another phone is something, which will receive different views.

If you are married for instance, at what point does answering your spouse's phone becomes invasion of privacy? Or what constitutes invasion of privacy in a marriage when spouses are even known to share a bath?

Generally the mobile phone has simplified life and made communication much easier and faster than before.
Welcomed as an advancement in technology, this small gadget is shaping lives and along the way living many casualties.
Marriages continue to struggle to accommodate the cell phone and government has had to change laws such as the traffic offence which forbids driving while talking on a phone or using a mobile phone in a bank.

The cell phone is here to stay, and so are the problems associated to its use, what are your views?
For comments or contributions or suggestions, you can send them to masuzyoc@gmail.com

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ANGLICAN BISHOPS "BLASTED" FOR SUPPORTING MUGABE!

2007-04-24T07:17:00.001+02:00

« godslots this weekend | Main

Monday, 23 April 2007

Zimbabwe: Anglican bishops support Mugabe

http://www.thinkinganglicans.org.uk/archives/002368.html#c670690

The bishops of the Province of Central Africa have issued a Pastoral Letter. The text of the letter can be read here.

This news has been reported widely, see Associated Press African Anglican Bishops Support Mugabe and the Angola Press African Anglican bishops support Mugabe.

Magic Statistics has plenty of background links in Anglican bishops support Mugabe after Catholics call for his departure.

Here is what the Roman Catholic bishops said: Repent And Listen to the Cry of Citizens as reported in the Zimbabwe Independent.

The pro-Mugabe Herald in Zimbabwe reports it this way: Anglican Bishops Support Mugabe.

Update
Episcopal News Service has republished this report from Ecumenical News International
ZIMBABWE: Anglican bishops want sanctions on country's ruling elite lifted
Posted by Simon Sarmiento on Monday, 23 April 2007 at 6:51pm BST | TrackBack
You can make a Permalink to this if you like
Categorised as: Anglican Communion

Comments

Well, that's disgraceful.

Lord have mercy!
Posted by: JCF on Monday, 23 April 2007 at 8:07pm BST

If Christ hadn't been resurrected he'd turn in his grave!
Posted by: Erika Baker on Monday, 23 April 2007 at 8:08pm BST

The anglican bishops are ceasing to surprise me.

Sowing and reaping .........

But because of my own Evangelical background, I suppose, the failings of Evangelicals cut deepest and hurt most somehow.

I think i am a recovering fundamentalist and doubt full recovery from the pain will become possible ......
Posted by: Laurence Roberts on Monday, 23 April 2007 at 8:40pm BST

It seems that they are so concerned about sexuality that they can't deal with such mundane things as justice and mercy.
Posted by: Thomas+ on Monday, 23 April 2007 at 9:37pm BST

The press reports exagerate. I wouldn't read the bishops letter as entirely supportive of Mugabe's disgraceful regime, although it is critical of the sanctions. I doubt that the Bishops from Zambia, Botswana and Malawi would have signed a letter directly supporting Mugabe.

"We call upon the government of Zimbabwe to provide a framework for peace by creating a conducive environment for dialogue and tolerance."

"As Bishops we denounce all forms of violence perpetrated by whatever source as a means of resolving conflict. As this is a degradation of those created in the image of God. We want to make it unequivocally clear to all of our people, that we do not condone what is happening in Zimbabwe."

"We call upon the civil society in Zimbabwe to articulate and promote the practice and respect of human dignity by all social and political ways in the building of a culture of governance that respects the sanctity of life."
Posted by: Brian on Monday, 23 April 2007 at 9:39pm BST

They'd probably think differently if Mugabe was gay.
Posted by: Deacon Charlie Perrin on Monday, 23 April 2007 at 9:40pm BST

Unfortunately, this is the sort of thing we have come to expect from the so-called "Global South." If it doesn't involve penises, vaginas, or --saints preserve us!-- anuses, then it's not a moral issue, apparently.

What an absolute, unspeakable disgrace.

On the other hand, the Roman Catholics of Zimbabwe have given the world a heroic example of what it is to speak truth to power. Thank God for them.
Posted by: JPM on Monday, 23 April 2007 at 10:38pm BST

This is one of those situations where duckshoving really comes into play.

We're being cruel because of harsh sanctions claims one group. Another group claims to put in place sanctions because of cruelty to the peoples.

The mistreatment of Zimbabweans is to be deplored (and any aliens in their midst).

It does also raise the question of sanctions. My observations are that sanctions are becoming a failed tool and should probably be considered an act of war. They are equivalent to laying seige to a walled city and hoping to starve the people into submission.

The people hurt by sanctions are rarely the power brokers. It is typically the most vulnerable in the community: the poor, women, children, the afflicted, or outcastes. Sanctions actually exacerbate community tensions as the fear of shortages and unnecessary deaths leads to people behaving in more aggressive fashions. e.g. "If there is not going to be enough to go around, then at least my family/sons will survive." or "If there is not enough to go around, if we eliminate a few of our enemies mouths then there is more food for our allies".

That said, priestly castes need to be careful not to be seen to be endorsing cruel or repressive regimes. That is the what Jesus hated about certain Phariseans and others during the Roman occupation: they had become apologers and justifiers of the cruel Roman empire - remember there were crucifixes lining the highways as a form of psychological terror in their occupied nations. Imagine what that was doing to children's pysches at the time. Fast forward to today, imagine what is happening to children's psyches in Zimbabwe, Sudan, Palestine, Israel, Iran or Iraq today...

Any soul or nation who exacerbates these problems or intervenes to create a status quo that serves their economic interests with either no regard or contempt for the wellbeing of a nation's citizens and sojourners has God's emnity.

Isaiah 5:13-21, Ezekiel 34:7-31, Hosea 4, Zechariah 3:11 to 12:8 are worthy rebukes for apologists to cruelty. Matthew 25:31-46 quite makes it clear that both cruel leaders (justifying negligence of their own citizens) or those who impose blockades (depriving from without) are guilty of failing to feed and provide for God's flocks.
Posted by: Cheryl Clough on Monday, 23 April 2007 at 10:56pm BST

What a revolting development this is...but, it figures as it's the same clan of mischiefmaking renegade Anglican bishops who continously inspire ignorance, outcasting, corruption of TRUTH/SOCIETY and preach hate against fellow Christians.

Posted by: Leonardo Ricardo on Monday, 23 April 2007 at 11:00pm BST

I suppose it's like the Russian patriarch supporting Stalin. The Church continues to break the hearts of the faithful.
Posted by: Davis d'Ambly on Monday, 23 April 2007 at 11:04pm BST

More leadership from the "Global South" Anglican bishops.
Posted by: Dennis on Monday, 23 April 2007 at 11:10pm BST

Well, they have full stomach and are well fed. What else do they care for. They are eating right out of the palm of Mugabe. God have mercy!
Posted by: Ralph Asik on Monday, 23 April 2007 at 11:51pm BST

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2007-04-19T13:21:00.000+02:00

SW Radio Africa Hot Seat Transcript

Interview: Zimbabwe Church leaders
Broadcast on 17 April 2007

Violet Gonda: On the programme Hot Seat we take a look at the role of the Church in Zimbabwe in finding a solution to the crisis. The Catholic Bishops Conference issued the most critical statement yet by the Church in Zimbabwe , in a Pastoral letter for Easter. It spoke prophetically and warned of more bloodshed and unrest and blamed the chaos on the leadership of the Mugabe regime.
To discuss this and the continuing debate on the church response to the crisis we have Bishop Trevor Manhanga (on the right) , the head of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe and head of delegation of the Zimbabwe National Vision Document that was launched last year. We also have Pastor Ray Motsi (on the left), the spokesperson of the Christian Alliance, the conveners of the Save Zimbabwe Campaign and Pius Ncube (in the middle), the Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo . Ncube is one of the Bishops who signed the Pastoral letter.

I began by asking Pastor Motsi for his response to the Pastoral letter.

Pastor Ray Motsi: first of all, I haven’t actually seen the whole document, I’ve just had snippets of it because I’ve been away, but nevertheless, I think people can refer to it as hard-hitting. I personally believe that the Church needs to say the truth as they see it; whether other people actually believe it or not; but they need to say sincerely what they believe is the right thing. And therefore, if the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe has come to a point where they think they needed to say something about the situation in Zimbabwe , I think it’s a welcome development within our country.

Violet : Bishop Manhanga, the Bishops, the Catholic Bishops concluded in their statement that the crisis in Zimbabwe is a crisis of governance and leadership and that is apart from being a spiritual and moral crisis. Do you agree with this?

Bishop Trevor Manhanga: Well, firstly Violet, I just wanted to say in your introduction you introduced me as the President of the Evangelical Alliance. I am the past President. I am the Chairman of Heads of Denominations, so just to make that correction.

Violet: OK

Bishop Trevor Manhanga: And then we’ll go on to your question. I think, as Pastor Motsi has said, the Bishops in the Catholic Church have looked at the situation and they have felt, from their analysis, that’s how they see the situation. I think its common knowledge to everybody in the Zimbabwean scenario that, yes, things are not right. To ascertain exactly what the problem is and where it has gone wrong is what everybody is trying to do. So, I think its well within the Catholic Bishops’ right to look at the situation and to analyze how they see it.

Violet: And Archbishop Ncube, you wrote as the Catholic Bishops that many people in Zimbabwe are angry and that their anger is now erupting into open revolt in one township after another and that the country is in an extremely volatile situation. What has been the response from your parishioners so far?

Archbishop Pius Ncube: The Catholic parishioners have been very positive in their response. They felt that it is good we had talked and some of them said it was high time that we talked, this should have been said, they said, much earlier. So, they are pleased with the Pastoral letter and they think that we should look for ways to solve the situation so that it’s not mere talk and it just ends in a mere letter.

Violet: And you know, this is, some have said, that it’s very rare that Catholic Bishops have taken such a radical stance. Catholic Bishops have never come together in this way. Has this in any way got to do with the Pope?

Archbishop Ncube: No, well, the Pope usually leaves; well, because the Pope is not really in touch with the local situation, though he’s got a representative in most countries, including Zimbabwe . But we ourselves felt, well, we got new blood also in our Bishops Conference last year, three Bishops were appointed, new ones. And so, perhaps some of us were getting kind of used to the situation you know and part of the new blood they said ‘well, let’s meet and really talk about this matter, we can’t just let things drift’. So perhaps that’s part of the reason.

Violet: And let me go back to Bishop Manhanga. The Church in Zimbabwe launched a document entitled ‘The Zimbabwe We Want: Towards a National Vision’. What has happened with this initiative?

Bishop Trevor Manhanga: This initiative is going on Violet, as we speak we have put in place a secretariat, within the next week or so they will begin the outreach work in the provinces. In each province we’ll be looking at two districts, talking to ordinary people and gathering the thoughts and responses of ordinary people. Now yes, we would have liked to have moved faster but we were hampered by several things, resources, putting in place the correct personnel. So, we would have loved to have been a bit further along the road but that initiative is still on-going and I think it will yield a good result at the end of the day.

Violet: And, you know, with the latest statement by the Catholic Church, do you feel that you’ve been out done by events in terms of your document?

Bishop Trevor Manhanga: No, no, no, far from it. This document is not like instant coffee that we are looking at something for tomorrow. This document is trying to gather consensus on a vision for the nation. Some people have said to us now that elections are coming up next year that does not alter what the document is going to do. Whoever emerges from the elections of 2008 will still be presented with the document from Zimbabweans saying ‘this is the nation that we want’. It’s not about personalities, it’s not about parties, it’s about the kind of country, Zimbabweans will want to live in and be governed by. So, no, it’s not about being outdone by anybody or any process. We feel that the process we are going through is very legitimate and it will bring forth its fruit in season.

Violet: What about your thoughts on this Pastor Motsi as a member of what is seen as the much more radical Church coalition; the Christian Alliance. Do you think the Catholic Church has gone outside of the National Vision document?

Pastor Ray Motsi: Not at all. In fact the nature of the Church is that we all come from different, what I would call constituencies and schools of thought and therefore as entities we have the liberty and the room to be able to respond to the Zimbabwean situation from personal perspectives and yet at the same time we are able to come together at a point where we need to rally together as a nation. And therefore what is actually happening, for an example, as an example the three issues that you have raised, the National Vision document, the Save Zimbabwe Campaign and the Catholic Bishops’ Pastoral letter, are all ideas and attempts by Churches who know that there is a crisis in Zimbabwe , and therefore these are attempts. I personally believe that when you put all that together then you can actually be able to understand that there is a Church that is actually active and working towards a goal and doing something about the situation in Zimbabwe.

Violet: And, Archbishop Ncube, you said at the time, some time last year that the National Vision document that was signed by the Church leaders was different from the final draft. Can you clarify on this?

Archbishop Pius Ncube: Yes, well, I mean the substance of it I think remains very much alike, but a few passages were removed before the launch of the document, especially those passages that were taken as rather radical. Then afterwards, our feeling was ‘well, OK, if at least we have a document which also the Government respects, it remains, even in those passages that remained during the launch of that document, are still very critical of the Government. And I remember talking to one of the Ambassadors from Western countries, from France, he was actually saying ‘well, it’s amazing that the Government accepted the document to be launched because there is still so much that is very, very critical of Government even in that doctored statement’. So, in view of that, we felt that at least the Government will allow us to discuss it and not hinder us and not interfere, since it is a discussion document. Rather than having a document towards which the Government is negative and we thought that at least there are some positive aspects in us having a document accepted by both the Churches; the mainline Churches; and the Government.

Violet: Bishop Manhanga, how would you respond to this, that there are parts that were doctored and that there are some that would say that the National Vision document is a soft document and therefore lacked moral authority because it sought to appease the regime? How would you respond to this?

Bishop Trevor Manhanga: I think if anybody, in all fairness, looked at the document, it cannot be accused of being a ‘soft document’. I agree with my brother, Archbishop Ncube. Look at the document in all fairness and it makes some very critical statements. We must give due respect, the Government accepted that and I think in accepting that they said that ‘we acknowledge some of the things that are here and let’s discuss’. For people then to say that it lacks moral authority is without any basis whatsoever. I think we must also understand that what we are trying to do, at least some of us within the Church, is to open space for dialogue. And, if we are going to open space for dialogue, I think one of the ways we are going to do that is to make everybody understand certain things. Being antagonistic deliberately does not necessarily help. So our approach was, yes, as the Archbishop has said, there were some statements which were removed and maybe were a bit difficult in terms of trying to take a step forward. Now, once that was done, and yes, as the Archbishop has said, it never lost the heart behind it and it still maintained that in essence. So I don’t think we would buy the statement to say that it was a wholesale giving-in to any party. It is a draft, it was never meant to be the final copy. We are now hoping that it will set the stage for people to talk about some of the things in the document and also some of the things that people feel that are not in the document that people feel should be there. At least it gives us something to discuss.

Violet: And for the interests of the public, are you able to tell us which statements were taken out?

Bishop Trevor Manhanga: Well you know, there were eight drafts and it might be a bit difficult right now because I’d have to actually see some of the clauses. Some were not removed because they were offensive but maybe for better reading and because they were being duplicated somewhere else, some paragraphs were shortened be. So, it would be difficult to actually state which the different things that were taken out were, and some other things added in. Because, like I said there were about eight drafts that it went through.

Violet: And Archbishop Ncube, do you think that it’s now time that the Church spoke with a more prophetic voice rather than just a priestly voice?

Archbishop Pius Ncube: Yes, I think that as the crisis deepens more and more we begin to be aware of the urgency of acting, so that perhaps in this case dialogue alone might not be enough. But I think internally we must also begin to put pressure on Government so that they normalize the situation because up to now they have been extremely intransigent. So many efforts were made, by Church leaders, by human rights groups, by representatives of nations’ - Ambassadors, by the United Nation’s Secretary General, the outgoing man, Kofi Annan and by African leaders. So much effort was made and the Government remained intransigent. So I think now the pressure must come from within, from locally. So, mere dialogue alone will not work with these people. We know what characters they are. We also need to put pressure on them to shake them up a bit.

Violet: And still on this issue about pressure Archbishop Pius Ncube, there are some who have asked, what more can the Church do. Now we know that Mugabe is a staunch Catholic and this is the first time that the Catholic Bishops have spoken out with one voice. If the regime continues to brutalize people, can the Church ex-communicate some of these people, including Mugabe himself, or withdraw communion from them?

Archbishop Pius Ncube: Ah, personally I’m thinking that it would have a negative effect. The man would become even more stubborn to ex-communicate him. So, I’m extremely skeptical whether it would be effective. In any case, the first person to move it would have to be the Archbishop of Harare where Mugabe is resident, and I don’t think he would be likely to make that move. You see, sometimes the Church is very careful not to use its spiritual status as a weapon; as a pressure weapon; especially where someone might react even more stubbornly, causing even more suffering on the local people and become perhaps even more violent than he already is.

Violet: Pastor Motsi, what more can the Church do?

Pastor Motsi : I think it’s important for us to understand, especially your last question as to whether the Church needs to be more, what’s the right word? Needs to be sharper in its rebuke and in the way in which we do things. I personally believe it is. I think there is a time where we need to be able to try all kinds of ways in which to persuade the Government and everybody who is wrong and perpetuating this kind of problems that we face in Zimbabwe . But, if that doesn’t work, I personally believe that the words of the Prophet needs to be very clear, not only in the level of the voices but also in terms of what exactly needs to be done. And partly, prophetic voices need to be put into action and these actions ought to be brought to bear especially to everybody. And, I personally believe that the problem of Zimbabwe is not only those that are causing the suffering and the crisis, but it’s also those that are keeping quiet in the suffering, and those that are aligning those people that are causing the problem. That to me is what the problem is and therefore the prophetic voice needs to be very clear in order to tell everybody that the situation in Zimbabwe does not need anybody from Britain or America or, South Africa , for that matter. It is us Zimbabweans who must come together. Each and everyone of us playing a role and the Church ought to be right at the beginning because judgment begins at the House of God. And, therefore, all these attempts that the Church is making. And, I personally believe that the time is coming where we are beginning to be very clear in terms of who we are and what we want because of the mandate and the mission of the Church’s own scripture.

Violet: Do you think there should be a more proactive move by the Church to actually bring the two political parties together, you know this is over and above what the Regional leaders are trying to do, Thabo Mbeki in particular.

Pastor Ray Motsi: Well, I personally believe the idea is that people need to come together first. Our salvation does not come from political parties. That is all-important and I personally believe that the politicians continue to divide people, whether it’s MDC versus MDC or MDC versus ZANU PF. And yet, the people ought to be together because it is us who are supposed to determine where this country is supposed to be going, not ZANU PF or MDC.

Violet: And Bishop Manhanga, you know the Church is obliged to work with the Government but at what point does the situation become so bad that the Church is obliged to confront it?

Bishop Trevor Manhanga: When you talk about confronting the Government, what sort of confrontation are you talking about? I think that’s what you’ve got to realize. I think that everybody that looks at the Zimbabwe problem has got to understand one thing, at the end of the day we have to engage Government. They are the people who are in power, who are ruling the country, and, no matter what we do, whether as Churches or as Opposition, even the Thabo Mbeki initiative now, is premised on the fact that we are going to engage Government. So, if we are going to engage Government, as I see it, it’s important that that engagement is done in a way that is none provocative because you want to reach a settlement. Now, if you want to reach a settlement with somebody, by provoking that person, I don’t think that it’s in the best interests of everybody that you begin by provocation. You try and begin by persuasion that’s why I lean towards the side of saying let us try and persuade both the Government and the Opposition about things that we would want to see discussed. If we are unhappy with things that Government is doing, let’s engage them, let’s talk to them. I still feel that there is no alternative to talking. I would like people to tell me, what is the alternative? Violence? Armed Conflict? And I think that’s an option that I would want to propose, I don’t think that Zimbabweans should want to think that way because nobody wins in a situation where destruction takes place, violence takes place. There are no winners! I would lean on the side of persuasion; dialogue, dialogue. That is what we’ve got to do.

Violet: So has, you know you said on the issue of engagement, you know you said it should be done – it should be non provocative. Now, has the Church engaged the Government on the issue of violence? Has the Church actually appealed to the Government to halt the abuses, the human rights abuses?

Bishop Trevor Manhanga: Look, I don’t think there’s anyone Violet who would sanction what happened last month in Harare . Nobody sanctions that. It was wrong, it shouldn’t have happened. Now, simply because we are not coming in the newspapers does not mean we are not engaging Government. We are engaging Government at the highest level to make a case that that should not happen again. And, in fact in our engagement we have been told that there have been people arrested. Our position is ‘OK, let’s see if the Courts will convict these people, because we have Courts and let’s see what happens’. I would like to believe that our Courts are still competent. We still remember that Morgan Tsvangirai was acquitted of treason; there have been other cases where people have been acquitted. And, I would say to the Government if there are people who are alleged to have done anything, let them be arrested, they must not be brutalized, they must not be beaten, and let the Courts take their action which is what should happen. So that kind of work is ongoing Violet I can assure you. We are discussing with the powers that be, expressing ourselves and we trust that there will come a time when this thing will be seen openly.

Violet : Archbishop Ncube, what are your thoughts on this? If in private the Government has been told to stop the abuses and it still continues is it not time to publicly condemn the Government?

Archbishop Pius Ncube: You see I’m not sure whether I got your question properly, but if it’s a matter of none provocation of the Government, we’ve had this Government for the last 27 years. We know who they are and we know the characters of all those people there. Bishop Trevor Manhanga himself was part of what was called the Troika. How long did they speak with these people? Three years from 2003 to 2005, from 2002 to 2005, they were trying to get ZANU PF to talk to the Opposition, all to no avail. If I heard properly, (Catholic Bishop Patrick) Mutumwa said that they met something like 45 times with ZANU PF, 41 times with MDC. All to no avail. We know that Archbishop Ndungane of Cape Town came to talk to President Mugabe, all to no avail. We know that a number of African President including Thabo Mbeki, Chissano, Mkapa of Tanzania, Muluzi of Malawi, the Nigerian President Obasanjo and I think as well as others, talked with Mugabe; all to no avail.

So what is meant by non-provocation? Must we kow tow to these people? These people have shown total disregard for human rights and are clinging to power at all costs to the detriment of Zimbabweans. They continue at our cost, they continue printing money at any time so that they cause inflation. Inflation right now is 4000%. That 1700% is incorrect because they are taking it on the official price which is not practiced. The official price of bread is 825; the real price of bread in the shop is 5000, so they are not being correct, right? Kofi Annan talked to that man, Kofi Annan is a high up official. The Pope has sent messages appealing for peace. So if these people don’t listen then the Zimbabweans have a right to non violent civil disobedience and they cannot go on kow-towing to these people while we are being sunk to the ground. It’s the eighth year now! Eight years since this thing started with this grabbing of commercial land and unplanned fast track activities. This Government is not people centered. So if we are appealing to them and we talk to them, the Catholic Bishops have engaged President Mugabe on dialogue, I was part of the delegation. Anyhow, having tried everything with time, we just have to put pressure through civic disobedience. We cannot just go on being sweet to these people.

Violet: Now this is the same question that I’m going to ask Pastor Ray Motsi, that Bishop Manhanga said that just because they don’t report in the media the appeals that mediators are making to the Government, especially in connection with the violence that has been taking place in Zimbabwe . And also, Thabo Mbeki and the SADC leaders also said that they had appealed to the Mugabe regime for peace, and this was in private. Now my question is, if all these appeals that the mediators are making in private, if they are not yielding any results, is it not time for the mediators to actually publicly criticize the regime, Pastor Motsi?

Pastor Ray Motsi: Well I personally believe that every Zimbabwean has got a right to respond to this Government and any other Government for that matter in the manner in which he or she feels they need to because any Government is supposed to be by the people, for the people and from the people. And therefore, every Zimbabwean has got a right to respond. And, I also want to in some way agree with what my colleagues on the Conference except to differ with Trevor in the sense that non violence, peaceful is very confrontational. It’s based on the reality of what is actually going on. And therefore, if you cannot actually agree on the basis of the truth on the ground, there is no basis for engagement. And therefore, as long as we as Church says there is something wrong and the Government says there is nothing wrong, there’s no basis for engagement and therefore there is a sense in which people will have to come and speak out. It’s exactly like a father in the house is in a disagreement with his children. Now, there are other children who are very conciliatory in their approach, others will simply keep quiet and others will say ‘well dad, if you are not really willing to respond to me, I’m going to do my own thing.’ But that is the kind of crisis and the kind of response that you have in any country. You actually have people that will respond in a conciliatory way, there are others who would say ‘hey listen, if you are not prepared to be my father and behave like a father, why should I be a child to you when in actual fact, you are not responding to my needs’.

Violet: Bishop Manhanga?

Pastor Ray Motsi: That is basically what is going on, you see

Bishop Manhanga: All I’m saying is what is the nature of the resistance that the Church should be taking? I think that unfortunately what happens is that we are not coming up with the kind of definition and therefore when the Church wants to express itself their actions are usurped by other people and they become violent. I don’t believe it’s Church people, but because of the situation in Zimbabwe , even if the Church was to have a peaceful demonstration, it can easily be overtaken by other elements and then it becomes violent and then we get the police coming in and you see, there’s that snowball effect. So I think it would be counterproductive. In this volatile situation we all need to exercise restraint. I think speaking to Government at various levels, I don’t think you can come across anybody who will say that everything is right in Zimbabwe . They acknowledge that things are not right. The question is how do we get out of the problems that we have and correct the things that are wrong. That is the issue. I don’t think that even on ZANU PF’s side they are saying that everything is alright in the country.

Violet: So how would you answer your own question, because, as Archbishop Pius Ncube pointed out, you were part of the Troika that has been trying to bring the two, the political parties together, or trying to find a peaceful solution to the crisis. But, you know, nothing has actually changed.

Bishop Manhanga: Yes.

Violet Gonda: So what is the nature of resistance that the Church can take now?

Bishop Trevor Manhanga: Look, as I said, at the end of the day, I don’t know of any conflict in the world, which is settled through fighting. At the end of the day, people put pressure but they still come to the table to negotiate. I don’t think that all the discussions we had were a total waste of time. I don’t think so. I think Zimbabwe could have been further down an abyss of conflict had we not tried to discuss and bring people to some understanding. Yes, the crisis may not have been resolved in a timeous manner as we would have wanted, but I think that we must also look on the positive side that there’s worse things that could have happened that haven’t happened. So, I think that despite the fact that we may not have come out of the problems that we are in, still, I will still hold on to the point that we must continue with our efforts to bridge the gap between the differing parties in Zimbabwe and we must talk to them. Whether we agree with them or not we must still talk and dialogue

Violet Gonda: Next week the clerics argue on the nature of resistance or the activism they should embark on as a church, and we also hear their views on the state of the opposition in Zimbabwe . Archbishop Ncube reiterates that non-violent methods should be pursued and Manhanga says the door to talks is still open.

Audio interview can be heard on SW Radio Africa ’s Hot Seat programme (17 April 07).

NB:

SW Radio Africa is back on MULTIPLE frequencies. Broadcasts are between 7:00 and 9:00 pm Zimbabwe time on shortwave; in the 25m band 11775kHz, 11810kHz, 12035kHz and in the 60m band 4880kHz. Also via the internet at www.swradioafrica.com

BISHOP MANHANGA SUPPORTS ZANU-PF DICTATORSHIP!

2007-04-18T09:29:00.001+02:00

http://forjustice.atspace.org

                 Website Updated

Zimbabwean prominent Church leader, Bishop Manhanga Support ZANU PF dictatorship

Bishop Manhanga is a leader of Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe an umbrella body of Zimbabwean Churches. Manhanga is also part of the Ecumenical Peace Initiative. Arch Bishop Pius Ncube said, "Some of the church leaders in the Ecumenical Peace Initiative, in addition to Bishop Kunonga, had been given farms and money by Mugabe to ..."

Below l have quoted words of Bishop Manhanga. You shall know them by their words. At times words betray the heart.

"As the Church, we are for legitimate political authority; we do not subscribe to unconstitutional means to remove legitimate authority" Bishop Manhanga

According to Bishop Manhanga ZANU PF is a legitimate authority. This is pervasion of reality. Mugabe's ZANU PF came to power through a vicious communist war against Ian Smith, Prime Minister of Rhodesian Front government. In March 2002 ZANU PF rigged presidential elections. Any government that rigs elections is not legitimate. When tyranny like ZANU PF rigs elections they is nothing like constitution when considering removing them. The Zimbabwean constitution does not provide for removal of tyranny. Tyranny knows that it doesn't have legitimacy therefore will not give you room to remove it through elections. Mugabe is the one violating the Zimbabwean constitution by rigging elections and murdering innocent people. Bishop Manhanga is applying the laws selectively and wrongly to chain the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) from its God given responsibility to remove ZANU PF tyranny.

"We can pride ourselves that we have never failed to hold elections in accordance with our constitution" Bishop Manhanga

Zimbabwean elections are characterised by rigging, intimidation of the electorate and state condoned violence. It's a shock for me to hear Bishop Manhanga saying elections were held in accordance with our constitution. Which elections is Bishop Manhanga talking about? The election results of several constituences were challenged by the MDC in courts and many ZANU PF election victories were reversed or declared null and void due to massive rigging.

Bishop Manhanga does not condemn Mugabe's ZANU PF for violence. He is just evasive with truth. It must be made clear that ZANU PF is a government of violence. Mugabe publicly declared that some had degrees in Agriculture but he had degrees in violence. And Bishop Manhanga does not condemn this as ungodly and open violation of Romans 13, which gives the state authority to rule.

Bishop Manhanga (just like an Anglican Bishop Kunonga who grabbed a farm) is a fake Bishop who is preparing Zimbabwe for more slavery. Bishops are servants of God and have a Scriptural obligation to feed and protect the sheep. But now Bishop Manhanga is running with the wolf to devour the sheep.

Bishop Manhanga wants Zimbabweans to accept rigged elections, and Mugabe ZANU PF rule. Elections determine whether a leader has consent of the people. Mugabe doesn't have because he rigs elections, starve, torture and murder political enemies or dissenters. For Bishop Manhanga to tell Zimbabweans to accept Mugabe's rule is wicked.

Bishop Manhanga affirms that Christians who went to attend the SAVE ZIMBABWE Prayer meeting on 11 March 2007 were violent. It is well known that police went and attack people who were exercising their constitutional right, freedom of association and assembly. Gift Tandare was shot dead by the police. MDC leaders, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara were arrested and tortured. When these opposition leaders were taken to court there was no charge made, this further proves their innocence.

Mugabe ZANU PF government has tortured tens of thousand of Zimbabweans. Human rights organisations have documented more than 1 million case of human rights abuses by state agencies. Independent Newspapers have been bombed and banned. Independent journalists have been arrested, tortured and some killed. Homes of more than 700 000 MDC supporters have been bulldozed during the June 2005 'Operation Murambatsvina'. Churches have been razed to ground. Relief aid to the poor has been banned. Overnight police raided several Churches in Bulawayo and Harare that helped the poor.

There are so many evils that Mugabe ZANU PF is doing. In 1983 ZANU PF committed genocide that exterminated more than 40 000 Ndebele speaking people. In face of all this state wickedness Bishop Manhanga support Mugabe. A true Church leader would not even want to talk to Mugabe or ZANU PF leaders. But Bishop Manhanga even goes for lunch with these wicked rulers.

Bishop Manhanga is a prophet of Mugabe. Zimbabwean Christians need to do much including praying Psalms of Justice against such Church leaders. Manhanga is doing much harm to the Church and nation. It will be good if God remove him soon from the pulpit.

How good would it be if prominent Church leaders like Manhanga were preaching the pure gospel: That Mugabe's tyranny is a mark to show that Zimbabwe as a nation has sinned against God. These fake Church leaders are so cunning and prepared to go to Hell with the devil. The Bible has made it clear that the beast (wicked state) shall have support of the Church. No wonder Bishop Manhanga supports Mugabe.

Majority of Zimbabwean Church leaders have turned away from speaking truth about the suffering in Zimbabwe. Make the plight of Zimbabweans known in your area. Pray that God raise new Church leaders in Zimbabwe to preach the Gospel of Repentance and Forgiveness of sins.

God lead us not into temptation! God help Zimbabwe. Amen!

Collen Makumbirofa

Foundation of Reason & Justice

http://forjustice.atspace.org

makumbirofa@justice.com

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ZIMBABWEANS TRUST THE CHURCH MORE THAN THEIR POLITICAL LEADERS!

2007-04-13T17:54:00.001+02:00

Please click below for the recorded video!

http://www.galluppoll.com/videoArchive/?CI=27205&VAP=0&VASRCH=

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MS GRACE KWINJE" THE WOMAN IN ME!"

2007-04-12T09:53:00.001+02:00

OPINION: "The woman in me!"

By Grace Kwinje

"I will go before the King, even though it is against the law. And if I perish. I perish" . Esther 4:16

HARARE - 'What sort of woman are you Grace Kwinjeh?'

'Who do you think you are?' 'What are you trying to prove?'

Questions asked by more than five baton stick wielding riot police officers as they beat me up on that fateful day at Machipisa Police Station in Harare on the 11th of March.

This was round one out of many

.

Yet it was about the woman in me. It was about me as a woman and what I stand for or represent.

Each blow epitomised what they feared and hated in my defiance against them. This translated into the most brutal assault or dare I say attempted murder on me, on my person, my being; that woman in me.

I did not respond I stood still and took each blow as it came. I did not cry. I did not beg for mercy. None of the comrades present on that day cried or begged for mercy, none denounced the party or tried to negotiate themselves out of this horror of horrors that will never be erased from our memories.

Neither will the physical or emotional scars ever heal. No amount of therapy can heal what we went through on that day.

Sekai Holland a 64 year old grandmother was called a 'whore', 'Blair's whore' to be precise. 'No I cannot be Blair's whore he is my son' she said.

How dare she respond thus?

Associate herself with the defiled Tony Blair? And so Sekai was danced on, interestingly by another woman. 'Iri hure raBlair rinoda varungu,' translates to 'this Blair whore loves white men'.

Sekai married for 40 years to an Australian was severely assaulted several times. She broke a leg an arm and three ribs. Why because as a journalist she made the double 'choices' of marrying a white man and belonging to the opposition; for that she had to suffer.

She had to be punished for going against the 'norm', the 'expected' by ZANU PF.

That woman in her was under attack verbally and physically. Her age? Not an issue.

The two young women we were with were not spared. The young 'whores' according to the officers had to be taught a lesson.

Together with Sekai and myself we were beaten on the buttocks. 'Rovai mazigaro' 'beat up the big bums' they shouted.

My black beret fell off and I got a beating for my blond hair. 'Hure rekuHoliday Inn rovai." "A Holiday Inn prostitute beat her up'. 'Look at the color of her hair.'

The 'sins' were many. I colored my hair blond in protest after Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede denied me a travel document on the basis that it was a 'state security document' and not a 'right.'

I was slowly being rendered stateless in my own country.

And so as is the case too in opposition politics the attack on us women was more on our sexuality, we were assaulted, humiliated, demeaned in whatever way they could think of.

Comically again, amongst us victims were some of the worst male philanderers, but the issue with them remained political, exposing the misogynistic character of our society.

We were treated this way because we are women and nothing else.

As I reflect on, I do not regret the woman I am and the hard choices I have to make.

It is for these that in my life I have often been persecuted, socially, sexually or mentally and this time I have paid an insufferably heavy price that has left deep scars on my body and soul.

I challenge oppressive systems in all their forms not just to do away with Robert Mugabe's injustice, but also primitive actions by those in our midst that still place us women in the odd position, of being underdogs even in the struggle for a democratic and just society.

It is a double battle for both our political freedom and emancipation, none of which can be achieved without the other, otherwise it's a half-baked revolution, similar to the one we got at independence.

Zimbabwean women in politics have stories to tell. Opposition politics? More stories.

Over the past months I have seen myself in and out of jail on various dubious charges mostly to do with organising and leading illegal demonstrations.

Once I was placed in solitary confinement at Rhodesville Police station for 48 hours. The aim here I suppose was just to traumatise me. As I sat there in that cell on my own I was afraid.

Afraid of many things to do with being tortured, raped or even being killed. By the grace of God I came out not touched.

A female freedom fighter can be killed at any time. In the wee hours of March 12 the military police came for me at Braeside Police Station, where I had been dumped half dead already, the night before.

A search for me by family and friends was in full scale at this time.

I was in a cell with two other women. One of them was actually nursing and praying for me as I was in great pain and bleeding. We heard the sound of cars outside. Foot steps then the jail door opened.

The officer in charge, Makore pointed at me and said 'uyu Kwinjeh' to four military intelligence officials. I held on to the two women I knew I was in danger.

Once again in the fence of Braeside police station, I was tortured by the officers. They said they had been given orders to kill and not negotiate with civilians. This was not a joke because by this time comrade Gift Tandare's body lay cold somewhere.

May his soul rest in peace. I did not know this. The rest I leave to God and his mercy for me on that night.

They asked me all sorts of questions as they beat me with short 30 centimetre really painful baton sticks. I fainted several times but each time they got me up and tortured me.

Until in the end I could not stand that is when they asked me to remain seated and stretch out my legs and they beat the soles of my feet. How I got back in the cell I do not know. All I know is my life was spared.

They stayed on vigil outside the fence waiting for further 'instructions'. Thank God some officials from the Lawyers for Human Rights found me before the 'instructions' came the next day.

And then it was drama after drama. Released to hospital under riot police guard; then no charges; re arrested while trying to leave the country then back to hospital under riot police guard.

Eventually with Sekai Holland we made it for medical treatment here in South Africa.

I thank the sisters and brothers for the solidarity that came in the form of prayers, demonstrations, night dresses, cake, books, fruit and water.

Above all for taking the risk of being associated with this kind of woman, by visiting us at the Avenues Clinic in full view of the police and CIO operatives.

I will end with

a quote from Paolo Coelho's 'The Zahir', "I don't regret the painful times; I bear my scars as if they were medals. I know that freedom has a high price, as high as that of slavery; the difference is that you pay with pleasure and a smile, even when that smile is dimmed by tears.'

And so the woman in me will fight on.

Aluta Continua.

* Grace Kwinje is the deputy secretary for international relations in the Morgan Tsvangirai-led Movement for Democratic Change party

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THE FULL BISHOPS" PASTORAL LETTER ON THE ZIM CRISIS!

2007-04-12T08:06:00.001+02:00

'God Hears The Cry Of The Oppressed'

Pastoral Letter by the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference

This Pastoral Letter by the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference was formally released on the 5 April, Holy Thursday Mass evening, in every Catholic Church in Zimbabwe.

Please spread word about the Day of Prayer and Fasting for Zimbabwe, on Saturday, 14 April 2007

Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference (Harare) DOCUMENT March 30, 2007

Pastoral Letter by the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference on the Current Crisis of Our Country Holy Thursday, 5 April 2007

As your Shepherds we have reflected on our national situation and, in the light of the Word of God and Christian Social Teaching, have discerned what we now share with you, in the hope of offering guidance, light and hope in these difficult times.

The Crisis

The people of Zimbabwe are suffering. More and more people are getting angry, even from among those who had seemed to be doing reasonably well under the circumstances. The reasons for the anger are many, among them, bad governance and corruption. A tiny minority of the people have become very rich overnight, while the majority are languishing in poverty, creating a huge gap between the rich and the poor. Our Country is in deep crisis. A crisis is an unstable situation of extreme danger and difficulty. Yet, it can also be turned into a moment of grace and of a new beginning, if those responsible for causing the crisis repent, heed the cry of the people and foster a change of heart and mind especially during the imminent Easter Season, so our Nation can rise to new life with the Risen Lord.

In Zimbabwe today, there are Christians on all sides of the conflict; and there are many Christians sitting on the fence. Active members of our Parish and Pastoral Councils are prominent officials at all levels of the ruling party. Equally distinguished and committed office-bearers of the opposition parties actively support church activities in every parish and diocese. They all profess their loyalty to the same Church. They are all baptised, sit and pray and sing together in the same church, take part in the same celebration of the Eucharist and partake of the same Body and Blood of Christ. While the next day, outside the church, a few steps away, Christian State Agents, policemen and soldiers assault and beat peaceful, unarmed demonstrators and torture detainees. This is the unacceptable reality on the ground, which shows much disrespect for human life and falls far below the dignity of both the perpetrator and the victim.

In our prayer and reflection during this Lent, we have tried to understand the reasons why this is so. We have concluded that the crisis of our Country is, in essence, a crisis of governance and a crisis of leadership apart from being a spiritual and moral crisis.

A Crisis of Governance

The national health system has all but disintegrated as a result of prolonged industrial action by medical professionals, lack of drugs, essential equipment in disrepair and several other factors.

In the educational sector, high tuition fees and levies, the lack of teaching and learning resources, and the absence of teachers have brought activities in many public schools and institutions of higher education to a standstill. The number of students forced to terminate their education is increasing every month. At the same time, Government interference with the provision of education by private schools has created unnecessary tension and conflict.

Public services in Zimbabwe's towns and cities have crumbled. Roads, street lighting, water and sewer reticulation are in a state of severe disrepair to the point of constituting an acute threat to public health and safety, while the collection of garbage has come to a complete standstill in many places. Unabated political interference with the work of democratically elected Councils is one of the chief causes of this breakdown.

The erosion of the public transport system has negatively affected every aspect of our Country's economy and social life. Horrific accidents claim the lives of dozens of citizens each month.

Almost two years after the Operation Murambatsvina, thousands of victims are still without a home. That inexcusable injustice has not been forgotten.

Following a radical land reform programme seven years ago, many people are today going to bed hungry and wake up to a day without work. Hundreds of companies were forced to close. Over 80 per cent of the people of Zimbabwe are without employment. Scores risk their lives week after week in search of work in neighbouring countries.

Inflation has soared to over 1,600 per cent, and continues to rise, daily. It is the highest in the world and has made the life of ordinary Zimbabweans unbearable, regardless of their political preferences. We are all concerned for the turnaround of our economy but this will remain a dream unless corruption is dealt with severely irrespective of a person's political or social status or connections.

The list of justified grievances is long and could go on for many pages. The suffering people of Zimbabwe are groaning in agony: "Watchman, how much longer the night"? (Is 21:11).

A Crisis of Moral Leadership

The crisis of our Country is, secondly, a crisis of leadership. The burden of that crisis is borne by all Zimbabweans, but especially the young who grow up in search of role models. The youth are influenced and formed as much by what they see their elders doing as by what they hear and learn at school or from their peers. If our young people see their leaders habitually engaging in acts and words which are hateful, disrespectful, racist, corrupt, lawless, unjust, greedy, dishonest and violent in order to cling to the privileges of power and wealth, it is highly likely that many of them will behave in exactly the same manner. The consequences of such overtly corrupt leadership as we are witnessing in Zimbabwe today will be with us for many years, perhaps decades, to come. Evil habits and attitudes take much longer to rehabilitate than to acquire. Being elected to a position of leadership should not be misconstrued as a licence to do as one pleases at the expense of the will and trust of the electorate.

A Spiritual and Moral Crisis

Our crisis is not only political and economic but first and foremost a spiritual and moral crisis. As the young independent nation struggles to find its common national spirit, the people of Zimbabwe are reacting against the "structures of sin" in our society. Pope John Paul II says that the "structures of sin" are

"rooted in personal sin, and thus always linked to the concrete acts of individuals who introduce these structures, consolidate them and make them difficult to remove. And thus they grow stronger, spread, and become the source of other sins, and so influence people's behaviour." [1]

The Holy Father stresses that in order to understand the reality that confronts us, we must "give a name to the root of the evils which afflict us." [2]. That is what we have done in this Pastoral Letter.

The Roots of the Crisis

The present crisis in our Country has its roots deep in colonial society. Despite the rhetoric of a glorious socialist revolution brought about by the armed struggle, the colonial structures and institutions of pre-independent Zimbabwe continue to persist in our society. None of the unjust and oppressive security laws of the Rhodesian State have been repealed; in fact, they have been reinforced by even more repressive legislation, the Public Order and Security Act and the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, in particular. It almost appears as though someone sat down with the Declaration of Human Rights and deliberately scrubbed out each in turn.

Why was this done? Because soon after Independence, the power and wealth of the tiny white Rhodesian elite was appropriated by an equally exclusive black elite, some of whom have governed the country for the past 27 years through political patronage. Black Zimbabweans today fight for the same basic rights they fought for during the liberation struggle. It is the same conflict between those who possess power and wealth in abundance, and those who do not; between those who are determined to maintain their privileges of power and wealth at any cost, even at the cost of bloodshed, and those who demand their democratic rights and a share in the fruits of independence; between those who continue to benefit from the present system of inequality and injustice, because it favours them and enables them to maintain an exceptionally high standard of living, and those who go to bed hungry at night and wake up in the morning to another day without work and without income; between those who only know the language of violence and intimidation, and those who feel they have nothing more to lose because their Constitutional rights have been abrogated and their votes rigged. Many people in Zimbabwe are angry, and their anger is now erupting into open revolt in one township after another.

The confrontation in our Country has now reached a flashpoint. As the suffering population becomes more insistent, generating more and more pressure through boycotts, strikes, demonstrations and uprisings, the State responds with ever harsher oppression through arrests, detentions, banning orders, beatings and torture. In our judgement, the situation is extremely volatile. In order to avoid further bloodshed and avert a mass uprising the nation needs a new people-driven Constitution that will guide a democratic leadership chosen in free and fair elections that will offer a chance for economic recovery under genuinely new policies.

Our Message of Hope: God is always on the Side of the Oppressed

The Bible has much to say about situations of confrontation. The conflict between the oppressor and the oppressed is a central theme throughout the Old and New Testaments.[3]

Biblical scholars have discovered that there are no less than twenty different root words in Hebrew to describe oppression. One example is the Creed of the chosen people, which we read on the First Sunday of Lent:

"My Father was a homeless Aramaean. He went down to Egypt to find refuge there, few in numbers; but there he became a nation, great, mighty and strong. The Egyptians ill-treated us, they gave us no peace and inflicted harsh slavery on us. But we called on the Lord, the God of our fathers. The Lord heard our voice and saw our misery, our toil and our oppression; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with mighty hand and outstretched arm, with great terror, and with signs and wonders . " (Deut 26:5b-8).

The Bible describes oppression in concrete and vivid terms: Oppression is the experience of being crushed, degraded, humiliated, exploited, impoverished, defrauded, deceived and enslaved. And the oppressors are described as cruel, ruthless, arrogant, greedy, violent and tyrannical; they are called 'the enemy'. Such words could only have been used by people who in their own lives and history had an immediate and personal experience of being oppressed. To them Yahweh revealed himself as the God of compassion who hears the cry of the oppressed and who liberates them from their oppressors. The God of the Bible is always on the side of the oppressed. He does not reconcile Moses and Pharaoh, or the Hebrew slaves with their Egyptian oppressors. Oppression is sin and cannot be compromised with. It must be overcome. God takes sides with the oppressed. As we read in Psalm 103:6: "God who does what is right, is always on the side of the oppressed". [4]

When confronted with the politically powerful, Jesus speaks the language of the boldest among Israel's prophets. He calls Herod 'that fox' (Lk13:32) and courageously exposes the greed for money, power and adulation of the political elite. And he warns his disciples never to do likewise: "Among the gentiles it is the kings who lord it over them, and those who have authority over them are given the title Benefactor. With you this must not happen. No, the greatest among you must behave as if he were the youngest, the leader as if he were the one who serves" (Lk 22:25-27). And he warns Pilate in no uncertain terms that he will be held to account by God for his use of power over life and death (John 19:11).

Throughout the history of the Church, persecuted Christians have remembered, prayed and sung the prophetic words of Mary:

"[The Lord] has used the power of his arm, he has routed the arrogant of heart. He has pulled down princes from their thrones and raised high the lowly. He has filled the starving with good things, sent the rich away empty" (Lk1:50-53).

Generations of Zimbabweans, too, throughout their own long history of oppression and their struggle for liberation, have remembered, prayed and sung these texts from the Old and New Testaments and found strength, courage and perseverance in their faith that Jesus is on their side. That is the message of hope we want to convey in this Pastoral Letter: God is on your side. He always hears the cry of the poor and oppressed and saves them.

Conclusion

We conclude our Pastoral Letter by affirming with a clear and unambiguous Yes our support of morally legitimate political authority. At the same time we say an equally clear and unambiguous No to power through violence, oppression and intimidation. We call on those who are responsible for the current crisis in our Country to repent and listen to the cry of their citizens. To the people of Zimbabwe we appeal for peace and restraint when expressing their justified grievances and demonstrating for their human rights.

Words call for concrete action, for symbols and gestures which keep our hope alive. We therefore invite all the faithful to a Day of Prayer and Fasting for Zimbabwe, on Saturday, 14 April 2007. This will be followed by a Prayer Service for Zimbabwe, on Friday, every week, in all parishes of our Country. As for the details, each Diocese will make known its own arrangements.

May the Peace and Hope of the Risen Lord be with you always. Happy Easter.

Prayer For Our Country

God Our Father,
You have given all peoples one common origin,
And your will is to gather them as one family in yourself.
Give compassion to our leaders, integrity to our citizens, and repentance to us all.
Fill the hearts of all women and men with your love
And the desire to ensure justice for all their brothers and sisters
By sharing the good things you give us
May we ensure justice and equality for every human being,
An end to all division, and a human society built on love,
Lasting prosperity and peace for all.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
Our Father Hail Mary Glory be to the Father

+Robert C. Ndlovu, Archbishop of Harare (ZCBC President)
+Pius Alec M. Ncube, Archbishop of Bulawayo
+Alexio Churu Muchabaiwa, Bishop of Mutare (ZCBC Secretary/Treasurer)
+Michael D. Bhasera, Bishop of Masvingo
+Angel Floro, Bishop of Gokwe (ZCBC Vice President)
+Martin Munyanyi, Bishop of Gweru
+Dieter B. Scholz SJ, Bishop of Chinhoyi
+Albert Serrano, Bishop of Hwange
+Patrick M. Mutume, Auxiliary Bishop of Mutare

References:

[1]John Paul II (1987), Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, paragraph 36
[2]Ibid
[3] The Kairos Document (1985), Challenge to the Church, A Theological Comment on the Political Crisis in South Africa, p 19 f
[4] The Kairos Document (1985), Challenge to the Church, A Theological Comment on the Political Crisis in South Africa, p 20 Forward Ever (by any means necessary)! Karen C. Aboiralor

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"BISHOPS' ANGER" AND RELATED ARTICLES!

2007-04-10T11:23:00.001+02:00

Catholic bishops turn their anger on Mugabe

By Byron Dziva in Harare

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/10/wzim10.xml

Last Updated: 12:47am BST 10/04/2007

Catholic bishops in Zimbabwe have turned against President Robert Mugabe, accusing him of running a bad and corrupt government and calling for radical political reforms to avoid a mass uprising in the country.

In a pastoral letter posted on church notice boards on Sunday as worshippers gathered to celebrate Easter, the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference said that Mr Mugabe's misrule had left the country "in extreme danger".

"The reasons for the anger are many, among them bad governance and corruption," they said in their strongest attack on Mr Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party in years.

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"In order to avoid further bloodshed and avert a mass uprising, the nation needs a new people-driven constitution that will guide a democratic leadership chosen in free and fair elections," they said.

The Catholic Church is the biggest Christian denomination in Zimbabwe with the 83-year-old leader himself a Catholic and a regular church goer.

The clergy's outspoken criticism is the latest rebuke to the veteran leader, who has become increasingly isolated in recent weeks after his regime carried out violent crackdown on opposition activists.

In their letter, the bishops condemned the police brutality, which forced Morgan Tsvangirai, the country's main opposition leader, and others to seek medical treatment after they were beaten in police custody.

Mr Tsvangirai, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, was detained for trying to attend a prayer meeting which the regime had deemed an illegal gathering. Over the Easter weekend, two opposition supporters were abducted and tortured and a number of families were forced to flee their homes at a farm outside Harare.

Opposition groups claimed that Settlement Chacha, 31, was abducted on Good Friday by state agents from his home in Kwekwe, about 60 miles south of Harare. He was tortured and left for dead the next day along Harare highway. They claimed that five men abducted Mr Chacha in front of his family as they prepared for the Easter services.

Mr Chacha is an MDC activist and state agents accused him throughout his ordeal of masterminding petrol bombings.

In their letter, the Catholic leaders said that black Zimbabweans were fighting for political rights in almost the same way as during British colonial rule and accused President Mugabe of adopting unjust and oppressive laws inherited at independence in 1980.

Zanu-PF has already endorsed Mr Mugabe as its presidential candidate in elections expected to be held next year. Opponents fear that it will be a repeat of past polls, which they say were rigged to ensure a Mugabe victory.

A once prosperous southern African nation, Zimbabwe is mired in a deep economic crisis, marked by inflation of more than 1,700 per cent, unemployment of about 80 per cent, increasing poverty and chronic shortages of food, fuel and foreign currency.

The president's critics blame the crisis on mismanagement, including a controversial programme to seize white-owned farms for redistribution to landless blacks. President Mugabe blames the problems on sabotage by Western nations, including Britain.

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21 June 2006: Mugabe divides his church critics

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THE POPE MENTIONES ZIMBABWE AMONG OTHER "TROUBLE" SPOTS!

2007-04-09T12:18:00.001+02:00

Pope decries "natural calamities," "human tragedies" / Pope voices "apprehension" over plight of Africans / Christians Observe Easter Amid World Troubles / Pope condemns the continuing slaughter in Iraq and hunger in Africa

http://platform.blogs.com/passionofthepresent/2007/04/pope_decries_na.html

Twenty-one stories (updated originally both to add the DW, RFE/RL, Bloomberg, and Sky News stories, and to reflect a newer version of the first one from AFP; updated further to reflect a still-newer version of the first AFP story; updated still further primarily both to reflect newer versions of the AP, BBC, and AFP stories, and to add the ones from Zenit, the UK's "Times", the UK's "Telegraph", the UK's "Herald", VOA, and the "Christian Post"; updated yet again primarily to add the one from JTA; updated even further to add the ones from the "Scotsman" and the UK's "Guardian"):

(Vatican Radio, AsiaNews, the AP, and Zenit have posted the full English-language text of the address.)

From AFP...

(The earlier versions are also still available.)

Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday lamented "suffering" in the world's strife-torn and poorest regions, as millions across the globe marked Easter, the holiest day in the Christian calendar.

"How many wounds, how much suffering there is in the world! Natural calamities and human tragedies that cause innumerable victims and enormous material destruction are not lacking," the head of the Roman Catholic Church said in his traditional Easter address.

"I am thinking of the scourge of hunger, of incurable diseases, of terrorism and kidnapping of people, of the thousand faces of violence which some people attempt to justify in the name of religion ..." he said.

Speaking from the loggia of St Peter's Basilica to a crowd of tens of thousands, the pope evoked the plight of victims of last week's tsunami in the Solomon Islands, as well as the ongoing carnage in Iraq.

He said [that] "nothing positive comes from Iraq" which is "torn apart by continual slaughter as the civil population flees."

The pope rarely speaks about Iraq, where bloodshed continues despite a massive security operation since February 14 to quell daily violence that has killed thousands in the past year alone.

He also expressed "apprehension" at "the conditions prevailing in several regions of Africa," the world's poorest continent, notably Darfur, Somalia and Zimbabwe.

The archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, the leader of the world's Anglicans, urged Christians to embrace forgiveness and reconciliation, saying [that] they could help resolve conflicts around the world.

Recalling recent progress in the Northern Ireland peace process, where rival Protestant and Catholic parties agreed last month for the first time to share power in the British-run province, Williams said: "Going forward requires us all to learn a measure of openness, to discover things about ourselves [that] we did not know, seeing ourselves through the eyes of another."

In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin marked Easter by returning a long-lost icon of Our Lady of Vladimir to Russia's Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II, and pledged to return other religious relics lost in the Soviet era.

Alexy II, on his part, put aside long-running differences with the Roman Catholic Church to send Easter greetings to Pope Benedict XVI, in a letter quoted by the Interfax news agency [on] Saturday.

"I ... wish you blessed peace, good health and the Risen Saviour's help in your lofty service" on the "ever-joyful holiday of Easter," he said.

For the first time, an icon -- a holy work of art venerated by Orthodox Christians -- was placed near the altar, as Benedict XVI presided over Easter mass in the Vatican's St Peter's Square.

Celebrations took different forms across the world.

Solomon Islanders prayed for victims of the tsunami, while a priest urged the people to take up the task of rebuilding.

"Now is not the time to wait and sit for supplies. Now is time for you to make work, to start and rebuild after the tsunami," Reverend John Pihavaka told his congregation.

Iraq's dwindling Christian minority donned their Sunday best, but held quiet festivities, fearful of the bombings and abductions terrorising Baghdad's streets.

In Jerusalem, thousands of worshippers from five Christian faiths celebrated Easter at the traditional site of Jesus's death, burial and resurrection -- the city's contested Holy Sepulchre Church.

Millions of worshippers crammed into churches in Greece around midnight [on] Saturday to hear priests announce that "Christ is risen." Easter celebrations are the biggest religious festival in Greece, where 97 percent of the population is Orthodox.

In Ukraine, Easter had political undertones, with hundreds of protesters against President Viktor Yushchenko celebrating with traditional cakes and eggs sporting the blue-and-white colours of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, who has defied Yushchenko's order to dissolve parliament.

There were demonstrations in Germany, with about 12,000 gathering in the eastern city of Fretzdorf for a traditional pacifist Easter march. This year's target was government plans for a military bombing range north of Berlin.

More than 1,000 people also marched about 50 kilometres (31 miles) between Duisburg and Dortmund to protest against the participation of German troops in military missions abroad.

Easter was celebrated with great fervour in Poland, where more than 90 percent of the population is Roman Catholic, prompting one priest to remark that his church might need to be enlarged for the growing numbers of worshippers.

US President George W. Bush marked Easter Sunday by attending church at a Texas military base, and said [that] he had prayed for peace and for the safety of US troops.

Also from AFP (also here)...

Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday expressed "apprehension" over the plight of Africans in several parts of the world's poorest continent, notably Zimbabwe, Darfur and Somalia.

"I look with apprehension at the conditions prevailing in several regions of Africa," he said in his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) blessing from the loggia of St Peter's Basilica.

"Zimbabwe is in the grip of a grievous crisis, and for this reason, the bishops of that country, in a recent document [also here, here, and here], indicated prayer and a shared commitment for the common good as the only way forward," he said.

The bishops opposed a crackdown on the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, with assaults and detentions of its members, including leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who was arrested twice last month.

They said [that] the crackdown "shows much disrespect for human life and falls far below the dignity of both the perpetrator and the victim."

The pope said [on] Sunday: "In Darfur and in the neighbouring countries, there is a catastrophic, and sadly to say underestimated, humanitarian situation," referring to the western [region] of Sudan and neighbouring Chad and the Central African Republic.

According to the United Nations, at least 200,000 people have died, and more than two million [have] fled their homes, since the Darfur conflict erupted in February 2003. Some sources say [that] the death toll is much higher.

"In Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the violence and looting of the past weeks raises fears for the future of the Congolese democratic process and the reconstruction of the country," the pope said.

"In Somalia, the renewed fighting has driven away the prospect of peace, and [has] worsened a regional crisis, especially with regard to the displacement of populations and the traffic of arms," he said.

From the AP...

(The earlier versions are also still available.)

On Christianity's most joyous day, Pope Benedict XVI lamented the ``continual slaughter'' in Iraq and unrest in Afghanistan, as he denounced violence in the name of religion.

In his message for Easter, Benedict said [that] suffering worldwide puts faith to the test.

``How many wounds, how much suffering there is in the world,'' the pontiff told tens of thousands of pilgrims, tourists and Romans gathered Sunday at St. Peter's Square, where he had just finished celebrating Mass.

Benedict, delivering his traditional ``Urbi et Orbi'' Easter address from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, denounced terrorism and kidnappings, and ``the thousand faces of violence which some people attempt to justify in the name of religion,'' as well as human rights violations.

``Afghanistan is marked by growing unrest and instability,'' Benedict said. ``In the Middle East, besides some signs of hope in the dialogue between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, unfortunately, nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn apart by continual slaughter as the civil population flees.''

He also had harsh words about the ``underestimated humanitarian situation'' in Darfur as well as other African places of suffering. These included violence and looting in [DR] Congo, fighting in Somalia, and the ``grievous crisis'' in Zimbabwe, marked by crackdowns on dissidents, a disastrous economy and severe corruption.''

Benedict said [that] political ``paralysis'' threatened Lebanon's future.

``Suffering, evil, injustice, death, especially when it strikes the innocent such as children who are victims of war and terrorism, of sickness and hunger, does not all of this put our faith to the test?''

In contrast to his sorrowful address were the bright red, pink, yellow and orange splashes of color from flowers which adorned the steps of the basilica and surrounded the outdoor altar where he celebrated Mass under hazy sunshine.

Voices of choir boys floated across the square, as did the smell of incense sprinkled by clerics.

In an unusual touch for the Vatican's Easter Mass, black-robed clerics intoned a long chant from the Byzantine liturgy. This year, Eastern and Western celebrations coincided. The two rites often celebrate Easter on different dates, because of different church calendars.

Benedict ended his appearance by offering Easter greetings in dozens of languages, including Arabic and Hebrew, and gave the crowd his apostolic blessing.

After a grueling Holy Week schedule of long public appearances, the pontiff, who turns 80 on April 16, planned to spend a few days in the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, in the Alban Hills, south of Rome.

Besides his birthday, April also brings the second anniversary of his election as head of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics.

From DPA...

Pope Benedict XVI marked Easter Sunday with a Mass in St Peter's Square and a message to the world recalling the "natural calamities and human tragedies that cause innumerable victims and enormous material destruction".

"I am thinking of the scourge of hunger, of incurable diseases, of terrorism and kidnapping of people, of the thousand faces of violence which some people attempt to justify in the name of religion, of contempt for life, of the violation of human rights and the exploitation of persons," the pope told thousands of faithful packed in Rome's famous piazza.

"My thoughts go to recent events in Madagascar, in the Solomon Islands, in Latin America, and in other regions of the world," he added.

The head of the globe's 1 billion Catholics also spoke of his "apprehension" at the conditions in Darfur, Somalia and other African nations, and called for reconciliation and peace in East Timor.

In his message, the pope said Afghanistan continued to be marked by "growing unrest and instability", and noted that while there were "some signs of hope" in the Middle East from dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, "unfortunately nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn apart by continual slaughter as the civil population flees".

Benedict said that while the suffering of innocent children, "victims of war and terrorism, of sickness and hunger", represented a severe test of the faith of many Catholics, Jesus Christ had "countered the arrogance of evil with the supremacy of his love."

The ceremony was attended by an estimated 100,000 people and was broadcast on live television in 67 countries.

The pontiff then imparted his traditional Urbi et Orbi blessing "to the city and the world" and his Easter greeting in 62 languages, including Arabic, Hebrew, Chinese and his native German, amid chants of "Viva il papa" (long live the pope) from the crowd.

German-born Joseph Ratzinger turns 80 on April 16, and was celebrating the second Easter since his 2005 election as pope.

From Reuters...

(Earlier versions--in addition to the Africa-specific one below--are also still available on AlertNet.)

Pope Benedict, in his Easter message, made an impassioned call for world peace on Sunday that lamented the "continual slaughter" in Iraq and the growing unrest in Afghanistan.

The 79-year-old Pope made the appeal in his Easter "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) message to tens of thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square, as he concluded the second Easter season of his still-young pontificate.

In the speech, televised to millions of viewers in 67 countries at the end of Easter Sunday mass, he listed his worries about problems facing the world, particularly in the Middle East and Africa.

"Nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn apart by continual slaughter, as the civil population flees," the Pope said.

The Pope also lamented the "growing unrest and instability" in Afghanistan, which is bracing for a bloody spring offensive after a resurgent Taliban staged the most intensive year of fighting since they were ousted in 2001.

He condemned terrorism and the use of religion to justify a "thousand faces of violence".

"Peace is sorely needed," the Pontiff said.

The Pope read the speech from the same central balcony of St Peter's Basilica where he appeared to the world for the first time as pontiff, after his election nearly two years ago.

Resplendent in gold vestments, the Pope delivered Easter greetings in 62 languages, including Hebrew and Arabic. The crowd below, basking in the sun of a warm spring day, erupted into cheers as he blessed them.

HOPE FOR ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN DIALOGUE

In another part of the speech, the Pope said [that] the Middle East's future was "put seriously in jeopardy" by political paralysis in Lebanon, where the government is challenged by an opposition that includes Hezbollah.

But he noted "some signs of hope in the dialogue between Israel and the Palestinian authority".

His comments followed the formation of a Palestinian unity government last month. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also said on Friday [that] an Israeli soldier, abducted by Gaza militants 10 months ago in a cross-border raid, would be released soon.

Turning his attention toward Africa, the Pontiff lamented violence and looting in the Democratic Republic of Congo and said [that] renewed fighting in Somalia had "driven away the prospect of peace and worsened a regional crisis".

"In Darfur and in the neighbouring countries, there is a catastrophic, and, sadly to say, underestimated humanitarian situation," the Pope said.

The Easter event is just one of many important milestones in April for the Pope. He celebrates his 80th birthday on April 16. On April 19, he will celebrate the second anniversary of his election as Pontiff.

Also from Reuters...

Pope Benedict said on Sunday [that] recent violence in Somalia, where the capital, Mogadishu, has seen some of its heaviest fighting in 15 years, had dashed hopes for peace and worsened the outlook for the region.

"The renewed fighting has driven away the prospect of peace and worsened a regional crisis, especially with regard to the displacement of populations and the traffic of arms," the Pontiff said in his Easter "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) message. A joint offensive by Somali government troops and allied Ethiopian forces led to entire pro-insurgent neighbourhoods being demolished with rockets, tanks and artillery from March 29 [to] April 1, in fighting that killed at least 400 people and wounded about 1,000.

The Pontiff also said [that] he looked with "apprehension at the conditions prevailing in several regions of Africa".

He cited Darfur's "catastrophic" humanitarian situation, a "grievous crisis" in Zimbabwe, and violence and looting in the the Democratic Republic of Congo.

From the BBC...

Pope Benedict XVI has lamented that "nothing positive comes from Iraq", in his Easter message in St Peter's Square at the Vatican.

In a live televised address, the pontiff said [that] Iraq was being "torn apart by continual slaughter".

Pope Benedict also voiced worry over continuing violence and human suffering in parts of Asia and Africa.

Earlier the pontiff led Easter Sunday Mass before tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered in the square.

Easter Sunday is the holiest day in the Christian calendar, marking the Resurrection of Jesus Christ after his crucifixion on Good Friday.

'Signs of hope'

Speaking from the balcony overlooking the square, Pope Benedict expressed his concern at the level of suffering in the world.

"Nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn apart by continual slaughter, as the civil population flees," he said.

His remarks came hours after at least 15 people were killed in an explosion in Mahmudiya, south of Baghdad, in the latest violence in Iraq.

But the Pope noted "some signs of hope" in the Middle East, in what he called "the dialogue" between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Talks between the Israeli government and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas have continued despite Israel's boycott of the recently formed Palestinian government of national unity, because it contains the militant Hamas group.

The Pope also expressed fears about the political future of Lebanon, which he said was in serious jeopardy.

'Faces of violence'

The pontiff spoke of the faith of Christians in the risen Christ but he also painted a very sombre picture of a world disfigured by war and terrorism.

He condemned terrorism and the use of religion to justify a "thousand faces of violence".

"Peace is sorely needed," he said.

The Pope said he also looked with apprehension at conditions prevailing in several parts of Africa, including the "catastrophic" humanitarian disaster in Darfur, violence and looting in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the "grievous crisis" in Zimbabwe.

After giving his Easter blessing, the Pope, dressed in gold vestments, greeted pilgrims in more than 60 different languages.

The Pope will spend the next few days at his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, before returning to Rome.

From Deutsche Welle...

Pope Benedict on Sunday celebrated Easter mass by decrying the "continual slaugter" in Iraq and making a plea for peace in his traditional Easter message on Peter's Square on the holiest day of the Christian calendar.

The 79-year-old Pope made the appeal in his Easter "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) message to tens of thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square.

In the speech, televised to millions of viewers in 67 countries at the end of Easter Sunday mass, he expressed his worries about problems facing the world, particularly in the Middle East and Africa.

"How many wounds, how much suffering there is in the world. Natural calamities and human tragedies that cause innumerable victims and enormous material destruction are not lacking," Pope Benedict said.

"I am thinking of the scourge of hunger, of incurable diseases, of terrorism and kidnapping of people, of the thousand faces of violence which some people attempt to justify in the name of religion, of contempt for life, of the violation of human rights and the exploitation of persons."

Apprehension over plight of Africans

Resplendent in his gold vestments and mitre sparkling in the sun, the Pope said [that] he was particularly pained by events and conditions in Africa.

"I look with apprehension at the conditions prevailing in several regions of Africa," in several parts of the world's poorest continent, notably Zimbabwe, Darfur and Somalia," the pontiff said.

"Zimbabwe is in the grip of a grievous crisis, and for this reason, the bishops of that country, in a recent document, indicated prayer and a shared commitment for the common good as the only way forward," he said.

"Nothing positive comes from Iraq"

In a rare mention, the pontiff also spoke out on Iraq, lamenting that "nothing positive comes from Iraq."

The country is "torn apart by continual slaughter, as the civil population flees," the pope said, appealing "to all those who hold in their hands the fate of Iraq, that there will be an end to the brutal violence that has brought so much bloodshed to the country, and that every one of its inhabitants will be safe to lead a normal life."

Easter Sunday saw a series of attacks in the Baghdad area that killed at least 20 people and wounded dozens, security officials said in the Iraqi capital.

The Pope also lamented the "growing unrest and instability" in Afghanistan, which is bracing for a bloody spring offensive after a resurgent Taliban staged the most intensive year of fighting since they were ousted in 2001.

"Peace is sorely needed"

He condemned terrorism and the use of religion to justify a "thousand faces of violence."

"Peace is sorely needed," the Pontiff said.

In another part of the speech, the Pope said [that] the Middle East's future was "put seriously in jeopardy" by political paralysis in Lebanon, where the government is challenged by an
opposition that includes Hezbollah.

But he noted "some signs of hope in the dialogue between Israel and the Palestinian authority."

The Pope read the speech from the same central balcony of St Peter's Basilica where he appeared to the world for the first time as pontiff, after his election nearly two years ago.

"Finally, I cannot forget the difficulties faced daily by the Christian communities and the exodus of Christians from that blessed Land which is the cradle of our faith," the 79-year-old pontiff said.

Easter celebrates the Resurrection of Christ after his crucifixion on Good Friday. This year all Christians, regardless of the calendar [that] they follow, are celebrating Easter on the same day.

From Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty...

Pope Benedict XVI today marked Easter Sunday with a wide-ranging speech on conflicts and "natural calamities" around the world.

"How many wounds, how much suffering there is in the world," the pontiff lamented during the traditional "Urbi et Orbi" ("to the city and the world") blessing from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica. "Natural calamities and human tragedies that cause innumerable victims and enormous material destruction are not lacking."

"I am thinking of the scourge of hunger, of incurable diseases, of terrorism and kidnapping of people, of the thousand faces of violence which some people attempt to justify in the name of religion, of contempt for life, of the violation of human rights and the exploitation of persons," the pope said.

Benedict decried the "continual slaughter" in Iraq and the "growing unrest and instability" in Afghanistan.

"I look with apprehension at the conditions prevailing in several regions of Africa," he said.

The pope noted a dimming "prospect of peace" in Somalia; the "grievous crisis" in Zimbabwe; the "catastrophic, and sadly to say, underestimated, humanitarian situation" in Sudan and neighboring Chad and the Central African Republic, where hundreds of thousands have died and millions fled their homes since Darfur was beset by violence in early 2003; and "fears for the future of the Congolese democratic process and the reconstruction of [the Democratic Republic of the Congo]."

Benedict cited "signs of hope" in the dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians.

But he tempered that comment with his assertion that "nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn apart by continual slaughter as the civil population flees" and "the paralysis of [Lebanon's] political institutions [that] threatens the role that the country is called to play in the Middle East and puts its future seriously in jeopardy."

From Bloomberg...

Pope Benedict XVI appealed for peace in Afghanistan, Iraq and in the Middle East in a traditional Easter message today that included prayers in Arabic and Hebrew.

The Pope, in his second Easter celebration, called for reconciliation in Afghanistan, where there is ``growing unrest and instability,'' and in Iraq, which is ``bloodied by continuous massacres.'' Benedict also called for Lebanon to find a new role in mediating between Israel and Palestinians in his ``Urbi et Orbi'' speech.

The address, whose title means ``To the City and to the World'' in Latin, is an occasion for the pontiff to speak about international affairs and the concerns of the Catholic Church. He delivers another such message at Christmas.

The pontiff recited an Easter blessing in 62 languages, including Arabic, Hebrew, Chinese, and his native German in front of tens of thousands of spectators in St. Peter's Square, many of whom chanted ``Viva il Papa!'' The celebration was broadcast live to 67 countries, news agency Ansa said.

Benedict expressed ``apprehension'' about the plight of many African areas, including Zimbabwe, Darfur and Somalia.

About 3,000 demonstrators in Rome marched today against the death penalty, calling for the government to push the United Nations to declare a universal moratorium on capital punishment. The demonstrators, led by Italian Trade Minister Emma Bonino, and Marco Panella, both leaders of the ruling coalition's [Nonviolent/Transnational] Radical Party, ended their two-hour march in St. Peter's square.

They said [that] they hoped [that] the Pope would speak out against the death penalty in his homily today. The pontiff ``has a great opportunity and responsibility to speak to world leaders,'' Bonino said before the speech. ``He knows how influential he is.''

Benedict didn't mention capital punishment, though he spoke against terrorism, ``disdain for life,'' and violation of human rights.

Benedict celebrates his 80th birthday [on] April 16.

From Sky News...

Pope Benedict XVI has celebrated Easter Mass inside St Peter's Basilica, in Rome, before a crowd of more than 10,000 pilgrims.

In his annual message, the Pontiff made an impassioned call for world peace.

He said that "nothing positive" was happening in Iraq, and voiced concern about the growing unrest in Afghanistan and bloodshed in parts of Africa and Asia.

The 79-year-old also condemned terrorism and the use of religion to justify the violence.

He said: "In the Middle East, besides some signs of hope in the dialogue between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn apart by continual slaughter, as the civil population flees."

The pontiff singled out what he called the "catastrophic, and sad to say, underestimated, humanitarian situation" in Darfur.

He listed other African places of suffering, including: violence and looting in the Congo; fighting in Somalia; and the "grievous crisis" in Zimbabwe, marked by crackdowns on dissidents, a disastrous economy and corruption.

The pope said [that] only a negotiated solution could end the drawn-out, bloody conflict in Sri Lanka, and said [that] East Timor needs reconciliation ahead of elections.

Earlier he celebrated Easter Sunday Mass on the flower-adorned steps of St Peter's Basilica.

The pope ended his appearance by giving Easter greetings in dozens of languages, including Arabic and Hebrew, and blessing the crowd.

The Vatican said that TV outlets in 67 countries had arranged satellite links for the Easter service.

From Zenit...

The resurrection of Christ gives hope to a world afflicted by natural disasters, disease and violence, said Benedict XVI in his Easter message.

After celebrating Easter Mass today, and before imparting the blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city of Rome and the world), the Pope read a message in which he said that "natural calamities and human tragedies that cause innumerable victims and enormous material destruction are not lacking."

"Through the wounds of the Risen Christ we can see the evils which afflict humanity with the eyes of hope," the Pontiff said from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica to the crowds gathered in the square below on a sunny morning.

Hundreds of millions more people, in 67 countries, followed the event on radio or television.

Benedict XVI said in his message that his "thoughts go to recent events in Madagascar, in the Solomon Islands, in Latin America and in other regions of the world."

Catastrophe

"I am thinking of the scourge of hunger, of incurable diseases, of terrorism and kidnapping of people, of the thousand faces of violence which some people attempt to justify in the name of religion, of contempt for life, of the violation of human rights and the exploitation of persons," he said.

In particular, the Pontiff mentioned the several regions in Africa undergoing a "catastrophic" humanitarian situation, including Darfur and surrounding nations.

The Holy Father also mentioned the scourge of violence in Kinshasa in [DR] Congo, and in Somalia and Zimbabwe.

Benedict XVI said that "peace is sorely needed" in many places in the world, including East Timor, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.

The Pope continued: "In the Middle East, besides some signs of hope in the dialogue between Israel and the Palestinian authority, nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn apart by continual slaughter, as the civil population flees.

"In Lebanon, the paralysis of the country's political institutions threatens the role that the country is called to play in the Middle East, and puts its future seriously in jeopardy."

Christian exodus

The Holy Father then added: "I cannot forget the difficulties faced daily by the Christian communities and the exodus of Christians from that blessed land which is the cradle of our faith. I affectionately renew to these populations the expression of my spiritual closeness."

The Pope continued: "By his rising, the Lord has not taken away suffering and evil from the world, but has vanquished them at their roots by the superabundance of his grace.

"He has countered the arrogance of evil with the supremacy of his love."

After reading his message, Benedict XVI wished the world a happy Easter in 62 languages and imparted his blessing "urbi et orbi."

In English, the Pope said: "May the grace and joy of the Risen Christ be with you all."

In the afternoon the Holy Father departed for the summer papal residence at Castel Gandolfo, some 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of Rome, to rest for a few days.

The Pontiff will return to Rome before his 80th birthday, April 16, and the second anniversary of his election as Pope, April 19.

From VOA...

Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Easter Mass in Saint Peter's Square [on] Sunday, and made an impassioned appeal for world peace in his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" message. He spoke of his concerns for Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa. Tens of thousands of people were gathered at the Vatican for Pope Benedict's second Easter. Sabina Castelfranco reports for VOA from Rome.

Pilgrims and tourists from different nationalities crowded into Saint Peter's Square for the second Easter Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict. A sea of flowers adorned the steps of the basilica. Bells peeled, and then the sound of the choir rang out across the square.

The pope appeared in brilliant golden vestments to preside over a joyous celebration on Christianity's most important feast day, which marks the day [that] Jesus resurrected three days after his death.

At the end of the mass, the pope addressed a huge crowd from the central balcony of Saint Peter's Basilica, overlooking the square.

"Christ is risen! Peace to You!" he said at the start of his Easter message to Christians all over the world. Then, the pope made an impassioned appeal for world peace.

Pope Benedict lamented the slaughter in Iraq, and the growing unrest and instability in Afghanistan.

"Nothing positive comes from Iraq," he said, "which is torn apart by continual slaughter as the population flees." But the pope did note that there are some signs of hope in the dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians.

Speaking of the church's concerns in the world, he said, how much suffering exists with natural calamities and human tragedies that cause innumerable victims and enormous material destruction.

The pope mentioned ["]the scourge of hunger, of incurable diseases, of terrorism and kidnapping of people and of the thousand faces of violence, which some people attempt to justify in the name of religion.["]

The pope also turned his thoughts to the African continent.

Pope Benedict mentioned the catastrophic and underestimated humanitarian situation in Sudan's Darfur region. He spoke of the violence and looting in [DR] Congo, which raises fears for the democratic process and reconstruction of the country.

The pope also said that renewed fighting in Somalia has driven away the prospect of peace and cited Zimbabwe, saying the country is in the grip of a grievous crisis.

Thousands listened to the pope's words in a sun-filled Saint Peter's Square. Millions more watched him on television, as he wished the world a Happy Easter in 62 different languages.

Pope Benedict now heads to the papal summer residence at Castelgandolfo, in the hills south of Rome, for a few days of rest. When he returns to the Vatican, the pope has two important dates on his calendar: his 80th birthday, on April 16, and the second anniversary of his election as pope, three days later.

From the "Christian Post"...

Christians of different traditions around the world are observing Easter today, some amid violence and mourning.

More than 100 villagers on the tsunami-stricken Solomon Islands left their hillside camps to celebrate an Easter service at St. Luke's Anglican Church, on the outskirts of Gizo.

They said prayers for those who died from last week's earthquake and tsunami that flattened several villages and killed more than two dozen people, and sang traditional hymns in a concrete church decorated with tropical flowers and palm leaves. The pastor, the Rev. John Pihavaka, urged his flock to remain calm, and to share their remaining food and other provisions with those in greater need.

"We pray, especially for those people," one worshipper, 33-year-old Furner Smith Arebonato, told The Associated Press.

Solomon Islanders are predominantly Christian, and at least five churches of various denominations dot the hillsides around Gizo, according to AP. The Roman Catholic church was knocked down by the quake, but devotees gathered in the garden for their own Easter ceremony, to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, three days after his crucifixion.

Meanwhile in Iraq, the dwindling Christian minority donned their Sunday best and prayed for peace and security during quiet Easter celebrations at home, fearful of the bombings and abductions terrorizing Baghdad's streets.

"Despite the sorrow and pain, we have been preparing for the feast, which is upon us, buying new clothes for the children," said Hiyam, a 42-year-old mother of two arriving for the traditional Catholic mass with her husband, according to Agence France-Presse.

The Iraqi Christian community, which stood at more than one million people before the 1991 Gulf War, and is one of the oldest in the world, has shrunk over the years, with more and more people fleeing Iraq's insecurity for safer shores.

Also in Iraq, about 200 Southern Baptist soldiers held a sunrise Easter service led by U.S. Army Capt. Bruce Wagner. Wagner, a chaplain, regularly leads service for a small congregation of soldiers each week, reported The Cullman Times. The group met earlier in the week for a Good Friday service.

In his Easter message on Christianity's most joyous day, Pope Benedict XVI decried suffering in the world, lamenting the "continual slaughter" in Iraq and expressing worry over unrest and instability in Afghanistan.

Delivering his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" Easter address from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, the pontiff noted "how many wounds, how much suffering there is in the world."

As tens of thousands of pilgrims and tourists listened in the square, Benedict read out a litany of troubling current events, saying [that] he was thinking of the "terrorism and kidnapping of people, of the thousand faces of violence which some people attempt to justify in the name of religion, of contempt for life, of the violation of human rights and the exploitation of persons."

According to AP, the pope singled out what he called the "catastrophic, and sad to say, underestimated, humanitarian situation" in Darfur as well as other African places of suffering, including violence and looting in [DR] Congo, fighting in Somalia which, he said, drove away the prospect of peace and the "grievous crisis" in Zimbabwe, marked by crackdowns on dissidents, a disastrous economy and severe corruption.

Benedict said only a negotiated solution could end the drawn-out, bloody conflict in Sri Lanka, and said [that] East Timor needs reconciliation ahead of elections.

Meanwhile, the leader of the world's Anglicans highlighted progress in the Northern Ireland peace process as an example of the need for forgiveness and reconciliation as he delivered his Easter sermon.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams told the congregation [on] Sunday at Canterbury Cathedral that both concepts were central to the Christian holiday's message, and could be applied to resolve conflicts around the world.

"Step towards your neighbour," he urged, according to AFP.

"When in our world we are faced with the terrible deadlocks of mutual hatred and suspicion, with rival stories of suffering and atrocity, we have to pray for this resurrection message to be heard," the archbishop added.

This year, the calendars of five major Christian faiths coincide with one another, something that happens only once every four years. Easter this year also falls during the weeklong Jewish festival of Passover, which brings thousands of Jews into the cramped Old City to worship at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site.

From the UK's "Herald"...

The Archbishop of York yesterday [Sunday] called for the release of a Scottish journalist kidnapped in Gaza.

In his Easter sermon, John Sentamu said [that] BBC reporter Alan Johnston was not an "enemy", and should be freed immediately. Mr Johnston, 44, disappeared on March 12. He has been held in captivity for longer than any of the other 11 journalists abducted in the Gaza strip over the last three years.

"The fear of the West, so to speak, has played its part in the horrendous kidnap of the BBC journalist Alan Johnston," the Archbishop said.

"In God's name, please release Alan Johnston. He is not your enemy. He is a symbol of ensuring that freedom of the press is not violated - an issue [that] Palestinian journalists are too familiar with, after facing routine attacks, harassment and arrests. Let the man free."

Mr Johnston has lived and worked in Gaza for the past three years. His car found abandoned, he was reportedly taken by masked gunmen as he returned to his apartment in Gaza City. So far no group has claimed responsibility for his kidnapping, or issued any demands.

Meanwhile, the head of the Catholic Church in Scotland yesterday used his Easter message to urge Scots to take a bigger role in protecting the environment.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien described over-fishing, deforestation and pollution as among the planet's biggest challenges, and said [that] swapping a wasteful way of life with simple living was the best way of avoiding further destruction.

Cardinal O'Brien said: "We hear a great deal these days about climate change, and we do well to heed the warnings about global warming that come to us almost daily. But we are mistaken if we consider climate change to be the only problem, imagining [that] if we fly less, burn less fuel or plant more trees somehow the environmental damage will be corrected.

"Yes, we must fly less and burn less fuel and plant more trees, but these things alone are not enough and climate change is not the only crisis we face.

"Massive and devastating environmental catastrophes continue, unaffected by climate change or carbon emissions, and we must take the whole picture into account when we consider the damage being done to our mother Earth."

The Cardinal also singled out the environmental impact of modern fishing methods. He said: "Technology allows us to fish in the deep oceans, never before accessible to us. Far from solving our problems with fishing, this is creating new and more catastrophic dangers, because deep-sea fish stocks take longer to replenish than any others."

Speaking about Scotland's consumer culture, he said: "We take and use much more than our share and we cannot maintain this any longer. Quite simply, we must learn to live simply. By living simply, we will do all that our Easter faith demands of us."

Pope Benedict XVI's Easter message pointed to the suffering in the world, including what he described as "continual slaughter" in Iraq and bloodshed in parts of Africa and Asia. The head of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics delivered his message outdoors at the Vatican for tens of thousands of people.

"How many wounds, how much suffering there is in the world," the Pope said, delivering his traditional Urbi et Orbi Easter address from the central balcony of St Peter's Basilica, as pilgrims and tourists listened in the square.

The Pope read out a litany of troubling current events, and said [that] he was thinking of the "terrorism and kidnapping of people, of the thousand faces of violence which some people attempt to justify in the name of religion, of contempt for life, of the violation of human rights and the exploitation of persons".

He singled out what he called the "catastrophic and, sad to say, underestimated humanitarian situation" in Darfur as well as other African places of suffering, including violence and looting in [DR] Congo, fighting in Somalia and the "grievous crisis" in Zimbabwe.

The Pope added that only a negotiated solution could end the drawn-out, bloody conflict in Sri Lanka, and said [that] East Timor needs reconciliation ahead of elections.

From the UK's "Telegraph"...

Pope Benedict XVI has lamented the fact that "nothing positive" is happening in Iraq, and denounced unrest and bloodshed in Afghanistan, Africa and Asia, in his traditional Easter message.

"How many wounds, how much suffering there is in the world," the pontiff told tens of thousands gathered in St Peter's Square on what is Christianity's most joyful feast day.

The Pope read out a long list of troubling current events, from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, saying [that] he was thinking of the "terrorism and kidnapping of people, of the thousand faces of violence which some people attempt to justify in the name of religion, of contempt for life, of the violation of human rights and the exploitation of persons."

He said: "Afghanistan is marked by growing unrest and instability.

"In the Middle East, besides some signs of hope in the dialogue between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn apart by continual slaughter as the civil population flees."

He singled out what he called the "catastrophic, and sad to say, underestimated humanitarian situation" in Darfur as well as other African places, including violence and looting in [DR] Congo, fighting in Somalia - which, he said, drove away the prospect of peace.

He also singled out the "grievous crisis" in Zimbabwe, marked by crackdowns on dissidents, a disastrous economy and severe corruption.

The pontiff called for a negotiated solution to end the drawn-out, bloody conflict in Sri Lanka, and said [that] East Timor needs reconciliation ahead of elections next year.

Earlier he celebrated Easter Mass on the steps of St Peter's Basilica in bright sunshine.

In an unusual touch for the Vatican's Easter Mass, black-robed clerics intoned a long chant from the Byzantine liturgy. This year, Eastern and Western celebrations coincided. The two rites often celebrate Easter on different dates, because of different church calendars.

Orthodox faithful in the Balkans, in Russia, in Greece and other places celebrated Easter with long, traditional ceremonies. Russia made an exception to its cutoff of transport links with [Georgia], to allow three charter flights of Georgians to come to Moscow for the Easter period.

The Pope ended his appearance by giving Easter greetings in dozens of languages, including Arabic and Hebrew, and giving the crowd his apostolic blessing.

From the UK's "Times"...

In an implicit rebuke to Tony Blair and President Bush, the Pope lamented yesterday [Sunday] that "nothing positive" was coming from Iraq.

The country had been "torn apart by continual slaughter", he said, while in Afghanistan there was growing unrest and instability. "How many wounds, how much suffering there is in the world," he told the tens of thousands of people gathered in St Peter's Square to [hear] his traditional Urbi et Orbi (To the City and the World) Easter address. "Peace is sorely needed."

Pope Benedict XVI's shimmering gold vestments contrasted with his list of world tragedies. He said that he was thinking of "the scourge of hunger, of incurable disease" and of "terrorism and kidnapping of people, of the thousand faces of violence which some people attempt to justify in the name of religion, of contempt for life, of the violation of human rights and the exploitation of persons".

The reference to kidnapping came amid reports that the Taleban had killed the Afghan interpreter of Daniele Mastrogiacomo, the Italian journalist released by kidnappers last month.

President Karzai had freed five senior Taleban members to secure Mastrogiacomo's release. The Taleban beheaded Mastrogiacomo's driver and held his interpreter, to try to secure the release of more of prisoners, but President Karzai ruled out any further releases.

The Pope, who turns 80 this month, said that in the Middle East, "besides some signs of hope in the dialogue between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn apart by continual slaughter as the civil population flees".

The Vatican has been a consistent opponent of the invasion of Iraq, with the late Pope John Paul II urging Mr Blair to avert the war early on.

Pope Benedict added that he deplored the catastrophic situation in Darfur and the violence in [DR] Congo, Somalia and Zimbabwe.

"I look with apprehension at the conditions prevailing in several regions of Africa," he said.

Also from the "Times"...

Pope Benedict XVI gave the traditional Easter address today [Sunday] and complained that "nothing positive" was happening in Iraq, as he read out a long list of violent current events.

In England, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, told his congregation that forgiveness and reconciliation were needed to resolve conflicts around the world.

Speaking to tens of thousands of people gathered in St Peter's Square, the pontiff said [that] he was thinking [of] people that were victims of terrorism and kidnapping.

Delivering his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" Easter address from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, he read out the list, and said [that] he was thinking of "terrorism and kidnapping of people, of the thousand faces of violence which some people attempt to justify in the name of religion, of contempt for life, of the violation of human rights and the exploitation of persons."

"Afghanistan is marked by growing unrest and instability. In the Middle East, besides some signs of hope in the dialogue between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn apart by continual slaughter, as the civil population flees."

He singled out what he called the "catastrophic, and sad to say, underestimated humanitarian situation" in Darfur as well as other African places of suffering, including violence and looting in [DR] Congo, fighting in Somalia -- which, he said, drove away the prospect of peace [--] and the "grievous crisis" in Zimbabwe, marked by crackdowns on dissidents, a disastrous economy and severe corruption.

The Pope also called for a negotiated solution to end the drawn-out, bloody conflict in Sri Lanka, and said [that] East Timor needs reconciliation ahead of elections.

Earlier he celebrated Easter Mass on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica under hazy sunshine.

At Canterbury Cathedral, south-east England, Dr Williams, highlighted progress in the Northern Ireland peace process as an example of the need for forgiveness and reconciliation, as he delivered his Easter sermon.

He told the congregation that both concepts were central to the Christian holiday's message, and could be applied to resolve conflicts around the world.

In a historic deal last month, rival Protestant and Catholic parties agreed, for the first time, to share power at the partially devolved assembly in the British-run province.

Williams said [that] reconciliation between the two communities after three decades of violence and suspicion had finally allowed people on both sides of the sectarian divide to hear each other's opinions and stories.

"Everyone in this history made decisions, some shockingly evil, some tragic, some foolish. Those decisions and the sufferings that came from them don't have the power to tell you what decisions [that] you have to make today," he said.

The most senior cleric in the Church of England told the congregation that acknowledging wrong-doing [and] error, and understanding alternative perspectives, were vital to promote peace.

"Going forward requires us all to learn a measure of openness, to discover things about ourselves [that] we did not know, seeing ourselves through the eyes of another," he said.

"What they see may be fair or unfair, but it is a reality that has been driving someone's reactions and decisions. We'd better listen, hateful and humiliating though it may be for us."

Dr Williams called on people to "step towards your neighbour" as Christians commemorated the resurrection of Jesus Christ, three days after his crucifixion.

"When in our world we are faced with the terrible deadlocks of mutual hatred and suspicion, with rival stories of suffering and atrocity, we have to pray for this resurrection message to be heard," he said.

Elsewhere, Queen Elizabeth II, her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and other members of the royal family attended an Easter service at Saint George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.

From JTA...

Pope Benedict XVI in his annual Easter message noted some "signs of hope in the dialogue between Israel and the Palestinian Authority", while lamenting the "continual slaughter" in Iraq. Also citing unrest in Afghanistan, the pontiff denounced terrorism and kidnappings, and "the thousand faces of violence which some people attempt to justify in the name of religion," as well as human rights violations.

"How many wounds, how much suffering there is in the world," Benedict told tens of thousands of pilgrims, tourists and Romans gathered [on] Sunday at St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, where he had just finished celebrating Mass. Benedict said [that] suffering worldwide puts faith to the test.

"Afghanistan is marked by growing unrest and instability," he said. "In the Middle East, besides some signs of hope in the dialogue between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, unfortunately, nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn apart by continual slaughter as the civil population flees."

He also had harsh words about the "underestimated humanitarian situation" in Darfur, as well as other African places of suffering.

From the "Scotsman"...

POPE Benedict yesterday [Sunday] made an impassioned call for world peace in an Easter message that lamented the "continual slaughter" in Iraq and the growing unrest in Afghanistan.

The 79-year-old Pope made the appeal in his Easter urbi et orbi message - "to the city and the world" - to tens of thousands of people gathered in St Peter's Square, as he concluded the second Easter season of his pontificate.

In the speech, watched on television by millions in 67 countries, at the end of Easter Sunday mass, he listed his worries about problems facing the world, particularly in the Middle East and Africa.

"How many wounds, how much suffering there is in the world," he said.

Pope Benedict read out a long list of troubling current events, saying [that] he was thinking of the "terrorism and kidnapping of people, of the thousand faces of violence which some people attempt to justify in the name of religion, of contempt for life, the violation of human rights and exploitation of persons".

"Afghanistan is marked by growing unrest and instability," he said. "In the Middle East, besides some signs of hope in the dialogue between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn apart by continual slaughter as the civil population flees."

The Pope said [that] the Middle East's future was "put seriously in jeopardy" by political paralysis in Lebanon, where the government is challenged by an opposition that includes Hezbollah.

In Africa, he singled out what he called the "catastrophic, and, sad to say, underestimated humanitarian situation" in Darfur, but also highlighted suffering elsewhere on the continent: on-going violence and looting in [DR] Congo; the "grievous crisis" in Zimbabwe, marked by crackdowns on dissidents, a disastrous economy and severe corruption; and renewed fighting in Somalia.

The fresh violence in that country - centred on the Somali capital of Mogadishu - had "driven away the prospect of peace and worsened a regional crisis", the Pope said.

He also called for a negotiated solution to end the drawn-out, bloody conflict in Sri Lanka, and said [that] East Timor needed reconciliation ahead of elections. "Peace is sorely needed," the Pontiff said.

In an unusual touch for the Vatican's Easter Mass - perhaps as a demonstration of how old conflicts can be set aside - black-robed clerics intoned a long chant from the Byzantine liturgy.

This year, the [eastern] and western church celebrations coincided. They often mark Easter on different dates, because they use different calendars.

Orthodox faithful in the Balkans, in Russia, in Greece and other places celebrated Easter with long, traditional ceremonies. Joining in the spirit, Russia made an exception to its block of transport links with Georgia, to allow three flights from the country to Moscow for the Easter period.

Pope Benedict ended his speech with Easter greetings in dozens of languages, including Arabic and Hebrew, and giving the crowd his apostolic blessing.

In Iraq yesterday, up to 17 people were killed and two dozen [were] wounded by a car bomb in Mahmudiya, south of Baghdad. The US military also said [that] four American troops died in an explosion north-east of the city on Saturday.

And in Sri Lanka yesterday, a suspected Tamil Tiger claymore-mine ambush killed one Sri Lankan army soldier and injured several others.

Easter sermons balance despair with hope [sidebar]

RELIGIOUS leaders across the country [the UK] used their Easter Sunday sermons to address their most pressing concerns, with hope an overriding theme.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the head of the Catholic Church in Scotland, focused on the damage being done to the environment.

In his address, he called on Scots to be less wasteful, revealing plans by a coalition of Catholic organisations to launch a "live simply" project to encourage people to care for the planet.

Overfishing, deforestation and pollution must be tackled, along with climate change, he said.

"Massive and devastating environmental catastrophes continue, unaffected by climate change or carbon emissions, and we must take the whole picture into account, when we consider the damage being done to our Mother Earth," the cardinal said. On Scotland's consumer culture, he added: "We take and use much more than our share, and we cannot maintain this any longer."

Hope was a common theme.

The Rev Alan McDonald, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, said: "In a world of darkness and despair, the message of Easter is a candle-light in the darkness, whispering softly that the love of God can never be extinguished."

The leader of England's Catholics, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, spoke out during his Easter address at Westminster, about fears that modern Britain's "now generation" culture left those in poverty and suffering devoid of hope.

An expectation of instant gratification threatened to marginalise the poor, he said.

The Archbishop of Canterbury urged all people to consider the Easter message of reconciliation and forgiveness as tools to resolve conflict.

Dr Rowan Williams said [that] the story of Easter should provide comfort and encouragement during times of conflict and suspicion.

Meanwhile, Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, used his sermon to call for the release of the Scottish journalist Alan Johnston, kidnapped in Gaza last month.

Dr Sentamu said [that] the BBC reporter, who was abducted by masked gunmen on 12 March, was not an "enemy" and should be freed immediately.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall - who was making her first public appearance since her hysterectomy - celebrated Easter at Crathie Kirk on Royal Deeside, ahead of their wedding anniversary today [Monday].

From the UK's "Guardian"...

Amid a series of calls by Christian leaders for world peace in their Easter messages yesterday [Sunday], John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, called for the kidnappers of Alan Johnson, the BBC journalist captured in Gaza nearly a month ago, to release him immediately.

During his sermon at York Minster, the archbishop said: "In God's name, please release Alan Johnson. He is not your enemy, he is a symbol of ensuring that the freedom of the press is not violated - an issue that Palestinian journalists are too familiar with, facing routine attacks, harassment and arrest. Let the man free."

Dr Sentamu, who later baptised 20 adults by total immersion in a tank of water in York city centre, said [that] those who treated religion as an ideology to be studied were missing the point about faith: that Jesus Christ was a living reality. "He isn't only a figure in a book, the Bible, even if that book is the greatest in the world; he is a living presence. There are those who regard Jesus as the greatest man who ever lived, but who then died. That won't do. Jesus isn't dead - he is alive. He isn't merely a hero of the past, he is a living reality, the Lord of the present."

In Rome, Pope Benedict XVI gave his Easter message to the congregation in St Peter's Square in 62 languages. He gave a gloomy assessment of the Middle East crisis, saying: "Nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn apart by continual slaughter, as the civilian population flees."

He also spoke of growing unrest and instability in Afghanistan, political paralysis in Lebanon and violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia, referring to Darfur as "a catastrophe and, sadly to say, underestimated humanitarian situation". He condemned terrorism and the use of religion to justify the "thousand faces of violence" and added: "Peace is sorely needed".

At Canterbury cathedral, Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, cited Northern Ireland as a place where reconciliation had made it possible to release the opposing sides from their thrall to the past. "Everyone in this history made decisions, some shockingly evil, some tragic, some foolish ... those decisions and the sufferings that came with them don't have the power to tell you what decisions [that] you have to make today.

"If we can accept the unwelcome picture of us and our world that Good Friday offers, we are in the strangest way set free to hear what Easter says. Give up the struggle to be innocent, and the hope that God will proclaim that you were right and everyone else wrong. Simply ask for whatever healing it is that you need, whatever grace and hope you need to be free, then step towards your neighbour.

"When in our world we are faced with the terrible deadlocks of mutual hatred and suspicion, with rival stories of suffering and atrocity, we have to pray for this resurrection message to be heard."

The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the conservative evangelical Bishop of Rochester, continued his contrarian stance by praising the Iranian president's better understanding of moral and spiritual values than the British government. He said [that] Mahmoud Ahmadinejad contrasted favourably with British "free-floating" attitudes.

He told the Sunday Times: "I saw on the one hand what Iran was doing and what the president said had much to do with the moral and spiritual tradition of that country ... what struck me was that if there were any values on the British side they were free-floating and not anchored in a spiritual and moral tradition.

"Unless we reroot ourselves ... we won't know what we stand for and will not be able to confront other people, countries and ideological movements who are very clear where they stand."

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ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS WARN OF MASS UPRISING!

2007-04-09T10:30:00.001+02:00

April 08, 2007

Roman Catholic bishops warn of mass uprising if Mugabe remains in power / Churches in Zimbabwe hear Easter call for liberation

http://platform.blogs.com/passionofthepresent/2007/04/roman_catholic_.html

Two related stories:

(See also the previous post.)

From the AP...

Roman Catholic bishops marked Easter Sunday with an unprecedented message to President Robert Mugabe to end oppression and leave office through democratic reform, or face a mass revolt.

"The confrontation in our country has now reached a flashpoint," said the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference in a pastoral message pinned up at churches throughout the country [also here, here, and here].

"As the suffering population becomes more insistent, generating more and more pressure through boycotts, strikes, demonstrations and uprisings, the state responds with ever harsher oppression through arrests, detentions, banning orders, beatings and torture," the nine bishops said.

The majority of Zimbabwe's Christians including Mugabe are Roman Catholics. Several thousand worshippers who packed the cathedral in Harare clustered around the notice boards to read the message after morning Mass on Sunday.

Although the Catholic bishops especially Pius Ncube, the archbishop of the second city of Bulawayo [] have criticized the government in the past, the tone of this year's pastoral message was the most strident since independence from Britain in 1980.

In his traditional Easter address from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI singled out Zimbabwe among other troubled countries.

"Zimbabwe is in the grip of a grievous crisis," he said.

The letter, entitled "God Hears the Cries of the Oppressed," likened human and democratic rights abuses under Mugabe to the oppression of biblical pharaohs and Egyptian slave masters.

"Oppression is sin, and cannot be compromised with," it said.

As in the colonial era, the current conflict in Zimbabwe pitted those determined to maintain their privileges of power and wealth at any cost, even at the cost of bloodshed, against those demanding democratic rights, it said.

The conflict was "between those who only know the language of violence and intimidation, and those who feel [that] they have nothing more to lose, because their constitutional rights have been abrogated and their votes rigged," it continued.

"Many people in Zimbabwe are angry, and their anger is now erupting into open revolt in one township after another," said the bishops.

"In order to avoid further bloodshed, and [to] avert a mass uprising, the nation needs a new people-driven constitution that will guide a democratic leadership chosen in free and fair elections," it said.

A similar letter in the nearby nation of Malawi pressured longtime dictator Hastings Kamuzu Banda into holding a referendum on reform in 1992 and calling democratic elections, which he lost, ending 30 years of brutal rule.

The Zimbabwe bishops' letter was also reminiscent of the role of Catholic churches in the eventual ouster of Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines.

Deeply rooted Catholicism embraced the majority of the population in the Philippines and churches in Malawi triggered resistance to Banda, said Father Oskar Wermter of the Catholic communications secretariat in Harare.

"We cannot yet say what the response of our congregations will be, but basic biblical teachings apply. Oppression is not negotiable. It must stop before there can be any dialogue," he said.

Wermter said [that] the bishops wanted the contents of the letter to receive the widest possible distribution. The letter was delivered in the traditional rural strongholds of Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party across the country, where priests showed what he called a very strong interest in it.

The bishops called for a day of prayer and fasting for Zimbabwe [on] April 14, and said [that] there would be a prayer service for Zimbabwe every week after that.

The Anglican church has been more muted, with its leaders generally toeing the ruling party line.

Police violently broke up a multi-denominational prayer meeting [on] March 11, describing it as a banned demonstration. Two pro-democracy activists died and Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change, and a dozen senior colleagues were hospitalized after beatings.

Mugabe subsequently headed off a challenge to his leadership to win party support to stand for another presidential term in national elections in 2008. There was no response from the government [on] Sunday to the pastoral letter, and Mugabe was out of the country.

The once-prosperous nation is reeling under hyperinflation of more than 1,700 percent, 80-percent unemployment, shortages of food and other basic goods, and one of the world's lowest life expectancies.

"The suffering people of Zimbabwe are groaning in agony," said the bishops. "A tiny minority of the people have become very rich overnight, while the majority are languishing in poverty. ... Our country is in deep crisis."

But the letter said [that] it also wanted to convey a message of hope.

"God is on your side. [He] always hears the cry of the poor and oppressed, and saves them."

From Ekklesia...

An Easter message pinned to church bulletin boards and read out to some congregations around Zimbabwe has called on President Robert Mugabe to leave office, or face "open revolt" from those suffering under his rule. It comes from the nation's Catholic bishops.

The letter, entitled 'God Hears the Cries of the Oppressed', draws on biblical imagery to get its strong message across. It has been described as the most critical pastoral message from the Catholic Church since Zimbabwe won the liberation struggle for independence, in 1980, and Mugabe assumed leadership of the country.

The country is now reeling under hyperinflation of more than 1,700 per cent, 80 per cent unemployment, shortages of food and other basic goods, and one of the world's lowest life expectancies.

A similar letter in another African country, Malawi, pressured long-term dictator Hastings Banda into holding a referendum on reform in 1992 and calling democratic elections. He lost, ending 30 years of brutal rule.

"We cannot yet say what the response of our congregations will be, but basic biblical teachings apply," declared Fr Oskar Wermter from the Catholic communications secretariat in the capital, Harare. "Oppression is not negotiable. It must stop before there can be any dialogue."

Wermter said that the bishops wanted the contents of the letter to receive the widest possible distribution. It was delivered in the traditional rural strongholds of Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party across the country, where priests showed what he called a very strong interest in it.

In his traditional 'Urbi et Orbi' Easter address from the central balcony of St Peter's Basilica, Pope Benedict also singled out Zimbabwe as a nation suffering under a yolk of oppression.

"Zimbabwe is in the grip of a grievous crisis, and for this reason, the bishops of that country, in a recent document, indicated prayer and a shared commitment for the common good as the only way forward," the Pope declared.

The bishops have drawn an analogy between the current struggle for social justice and democracy and the struggle for liberation from white rule. In their pastoral document, they elaborate theological insights which cast Zimbabwe's rulers in the role of oppressors, and ordinary Zimbabweans as the oppressed: "Oppression is sin and cannot be compromised with," they say. "It must be overcome. God takes sides with the oppressed."

They suggest that young Zimbabweans see their leaders "habitually engaging in acts and words which are hateful, disrespectful, racist, corrupt, lawless, unjust, greedy, dishonest and violent..." The language of the letter might have been expected from Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo, but is extraordinarily harsh for a formal joint statement from the country's Catholic Bishops' Conference. The letter says [that] black Zimbabweans are today fighting for the same rights [that] they fought for during the liberation struggle.

"It is the same conflict between those who possess power and wealth in abundance, and those who do not; between those who are determined to maintain their privileges of power and wealth at any cost, even at the cost of bloodshed, and those who demand their democratic rights and a share in the fruits of independence; between those who continue to benefit from the present system of inequality and injustice, because it favours them and enables them to maintain an exceptionally high standard of living, and those who go to bed hungry at night and wake up in the morning to another day without work and without income; between those who only know the language of violence and intimidation, and those who feel [that] they have nothing more to lose, because their Constitutional rights have been abrogated and their votes rigged.

"Many people in Zimbabwe are angry, and their anger is now erupting into open revolt in one township after another."

The bishops warn that the country has reached what they call "a flashpoint," and is in an "extremely volatile" situation. "As the suffering population becomes more insistent, generating more and more pressure through boycotts, strikes, demonstrations and uprisings, the State responds with ever-harsher oppression through arrests, detentions, banning orders, beatings and torture."

To avoid further bloodshed "and avert a mass uprising," the bishops call for "a new people-driven Constitution that will guide a democratic leadership chosen in free and fair elections..." Their statement identifies the crisis in Zimbabwe as "first and foremost a spiritual and moral crisis," but also a crisis of governance and of leadership. There are Christians, including office-bearers of the Catholic Church, on both sides of the current struggle, the bishops say: "They are all baptised, sit and pray and sing together in the same church, take part in the same celebration of the Eucharist and partake of the same Body and Blood of Christ. While the next day, outside the church, a few steps away, Christian State Agents, policemen and soldiers assault and beat peaceful, unarmed demonstrators and torture detainees."

The Catholic Church has been an important force in Zimbabwean society, more supportive of the liberation struggle than many other churches. President Robert Mugabe is among many Zimbabwean leaders who were educated by Catholic institutions.

April 08, 2007 | Permalink

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COURAGEOUS CHRISTIAN LEADERS IN ZIMBABWE!

2007-04-09T09:23:00.001+02:00

Courage in Zimbabwe

http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=3179

The activities of courageous Christians in Zimbabwe could be chapters in a new, politicized version of the book of Acts. Christians have long been in the forefront of challenging the brutal autocratic rule of Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe, and in January eight church leaders were arrested by security forces as they and hundreds of supporters opened a new office of the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance. The interdenominational ZCA coordinates nonviolent resistance to Mugabe's rule and seeks to serve the country's increasing number of destitute people.

More than 60 Christians visited the ZCA leaders in prison and brought them food. One supporter waved a banner that read, "Raise the flag of Zimbabwe in prayer. Justice. Truth. Freedom. Peace." One of the eight men detained, pastor Ray Motsi, told supporters through the prison fence that "the arrest of Christian, peaceful pastors is indicative of the situation we face in Zimbabwe."

Motsi said the pastors spent the night in prison in "praise and worship." Pius Wakatama, another arrested ZCA leader, told the police that he needed to be taken to a new cell because "all those in my present cell have become Christians and now support the Alliance. I need a new congregation to work with."

The pastors were soon released, but their detention is representative of the tactics that Mugabe's government has used to bolster its rule. Mugabe, a leader in the fight for independence from Britain and against apartheid (in the country then known as Rhodesia), has rigged elections, doled out farmland to political supporters, destroyed homes and businesses of political opponents and harassed police, judges and journalists who oppose his rule. His policies have brought economic ruin to a country that at independence was one of the most prosperous and promising countries in Africa. Today, unemployment is at 80 percent and inflation over 1,700 percent. More than three-quarters of the people live in poverty, and millions have fled to South Africa.

Mugabe, who considers himself a devout Catholic, has intimidated some clergy and sown division among the Catholic bishopssome of whom have supported the president while others have been carefully neutral. Mugabe has not, however, stilled the voice of the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, which has repeatedly spoken out against government atrocities and called for compensation to victims.

Mugabe has also not been able to silence Pius Ncube, the Catholic archbishop of Bulawayo, the country's second largest city. Perhaps Zimbabwe's most outspoken critic of Mugabe, Ncube calls the government "demonic" and says "it will do anything to cling to power, even at the expense of the people." Ncube has also assailed South African president Thabo Mbeki for giving tacit approval to Mugabe.

Urging South Africa and other countries in the region to put pressure on Mugabe is one thing Western countries can do. Anglicans, Lutherans and United Methodists are among the mainline groups with partners working on relief and development in the country. The Tearfund agency in Britain (tearfund.org) also has partners there and is an important source of news and contacts with the ZCA.

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