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A
statement of hope
Clyde B. Chakupeta
May 01, 2008
The political
impasse in Zimbabwe is nothing but a façade that has made
us realize who Robert Mugabe is - a tyrant, a dictator, a humanist-impostor,
a manipulator and a shrewd old man! He has shown us what it means
to taste absolute power, power that has corrupted him absolutely.
Even though he is a Catholic, he attacks the same church that he
claims to belong to. He advises the church leaders in no uncertain
terms not to venture into politics, unless they want to be politicians.
He wants them to remain domiciled on the pulpit and preach soft
messages of God-s goodness, and pay no heed to the suffering
inflicted upon the people by his government. The church has made
attempts to knock on the door of his conscience, yet he is defensive,
pointing at such calls as neo-imperialistic drives. Very few religious
leaders have employed the prophetic voice to challenge Mugabe, using
the church instruments at their disposal. I intend to discuss this
rather warped narrow view of church-state separation in politics
and the role of the church.
The church-state
'formal separation- need not involve separation of faith
and politics. If it did, as called for in Zimbabwe, "We were
to banish the voice of the Church and of Christians from the public
square and limit it only to private life and then indeed we would
be guilty of the Marxist critique that religion is the opium of
the people".1 We intend, as Christians to have a focus on
a just society and polity. It is true that there has always been
a dangerous tendency within Christian thought and praxis to over-emphasize
the personal and the spiritual defined to exclude the social and
the material, but to focus on the next life. The church was, during
the ages of the monks, driven from the towns into the deserts, where
the monks were supposed to spend their days weaving baskets while
thinking of God and their nights unraveling what they had done and
starting again. Now the church has the moral responsibility of being
in the frontiers, where the need is greatest, not only in evangelical
duties, but in all spheres of human existence.
Today the church
is called to be contemplatives in action - to respond to the
call for the option for the poor and the oppressed. Our case in
Zimbabwe calls us to move from the nunneries, seminaries, presbyteries,
bishoprics and enter to join the multitudes that are exposed to
Mugabe gerrymandering. The daily bread of "Our Father-
we pray for everyday and the love for our neighbour are central
to the gospel message and we are urged to find political and social
forums for expression of the common good which is an integral part
of the agreed contemporary translations of the preaching of the
Kingdom by Jesus.
Apparently,
most of the religious leaders have adopted the Mbeki trivia, burying
their heads in sand. Those who have the moral capacity to advice
the ailing president have not used this privilege. Rather they have
pretended to be building bridges, with no engineering survey done,
involving no other stakeholders apart from themselves only. It is
not surprising though to note that among the church leaders are
some who benefitted from Mugabe-s illegal land resettlement
programme, two of these are Catholic Church bishops Alexio Muchabaiwa
and Patrick Mutume, both of Mutare. One does not need to be reminded
of Bishop Norbert Kunonga, formerly of the Harare Diocese of the
Anglican Church. We have pockets of high ranking clergy in their
own religious sects who uphold Mugabe-s dictatorship, wearing
blinkers because they are beneficiaries to his pettiness rule. Such
are people who support Mugabe out of paternalism, rather than the
desire for the common good.
This leads us
to challenge the position of the church in Zimbabwe-s current
impasse. The church has been very temperate, notwithstanding the
published "God hears the Cry of the Oppressed" by the
ZCBC (April
2007). The recent statement by the HODs, attempts to challenge Mugabe-s
evil disposition. Apart from these, the church has been found turning
a blind eye to the suffering of the nation. However, we have had
other non-local religious leaders challenging the Zimbabwean impasse.
Worthy mentioning is Dr. John Sentamu who said recently about Zimbabwe;
"When a white man does [it], the whole world cries, a black
person does it, there is a certain sense of, oh, and this is colonialism . . . .
Africa and the entire world have to liberate Africa from this mental
slavery and this colonial mentality - where there is anything
you blame somebody else instead of yourself". This is the
very tactic Mugabe is employing, the blame game. He blames the West,
Bush and Brown, yet he fails introspection to check where he has
gone wrong. Sentamu has gone to the extent of removing his dog collar
until Mugabe goes; he has invited people to join him in action -
fasting and praying for Zimbabwe. Very little action has been done
by the church leaders in Zimbabwe. The South African Bishops Conference
recently made a statement about the situation in Zimbabwe, yet the
Zimbabwe Bishops- Conference is yet to. Who should lead the
people to the interpretation of the Catholic Social teachings? To
interpret and to live the social teachings of the Catholic Church
is a mandate that the church leaders in no way can avoid.
The Catholic
Social teaching emphasizes on notions of common good, subsidiary
and solidarity as powerful resources in the search of the construction
of a just society. What message do we preach to people on Sundays
when there is no love between and among neighbors. Those belonging
to a different political party become obvious enemies and deserve
to be tortured, to have their properties destroyed and even to be
killed. Come Sunday they sit side by side and we preach the love
of neighbor. It is imperative that we evaluate and assess the response
of our parishioners in this political and economic climate. Our
dream is for a better Zimbabwe for all, more just Zimbabwe, economically
and socially viable for the survival of all, not privatized for
a few. And this is the teaching of Guadium et Spes, " . . .
hope related to the end of time does not diminish the importance
of intervening duties, but rather undergirds the acquittal of them
with fresh incentives" (GS 21)2 . The poor and oppressed of
our Zimbabwe deserves no less.
The same encyclical
teaches that "earthly progress must be carefully distinguished
from the growth of Christ-s Kingdom, to the extent that the
former can contribute to the better ordering of human society, it
is vital concern to the kingdom of God" (GS 39)3 .
The resurrection
story should and must be the guiding principle for the church. The
experiences of the cross seem to speak the manifestation of our
Zimbabwe today. One is reminded of the righteous anger of Jesus
when confronted with injustice. He had the temerity to call the
Pharisees "brood of vipers." Very often it is the poor
and suffering themselves who through God-s goodness are authors
of the hope that we expect. By voting Mugabe out, we all hoped for
a better Zimbabwe and are dedicated to the rebuilding of this once
prosperous nation. This hope is faced with a tragic refusal by the
noble savage, Mugabe. He pretends no vote took place and wants to
extend his stay, yet this is open fraud, perpetrated by the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission.
This moment
needs us more as church, as good Christians, to be "as gentle
as doves and cunning as serpents" (Matt 10:16). We need to
be advocators of justice and love, and even to protest angrily and
prophetically about injustice. We need to go on doing this whenever
there is injustice against any least of our brothers and sisters.
This we need to do with the view of bringing about change, through
engagement in social action guided by Jesus. The mission for us
(Isaiah 6:14) is, "to preach the good news to the poor, give
sight to the blind, to proclaim liberty to the oppressed"
(Luke 4:18). This is the moment when we need baptized imagination
and discernment for the common good. "Prayer should be central,
but not to be used to dull the brain and to soften the edges of
necessary conflict in ways that are helpful"4 .
Above all, we need to keep in mind our friendship with the poor
and oppressed, the anger coming from injustice they suffer which
can be a catalyst for a communal and structural transformation.
Nonetheless, we lose perspective if our work together for justice
is not permeated and nourished by its roots in faith. This is the
time to strive for real independence of Zimbabwe. There is need
for the rebuilding of Zimbabwe towards a new development for the
common good. Pope Paul VI5 presents development as "the
transition from less humane condition to those which are more human
and indicates its characteristics - not merely economic and technological,
but also the acquisition of culture, respect of dignity of others,
acknowledgement of the highest good and recognition of God himself
as author and end of these blessings. The church is therefore responsible
to stand out and represent the rights of those whose dignity has
been trampled upon by the government.
The Christian
faith offers us a vision of life based on justice and forgiveness,
leadership as service and not just power, trust in divine providence
and in one another, a realistic appreciation of the power of evil
and yet confident that it may be overcome, - all these are elements
of the Good news. Prayer and liturgical celebration can open us
up to liberating perspectives offered by the presence of God in
our work with the poor and oppressed, and open us up to each other
in new respect and acceptance of the Immanuel - God is with
us.
Notes
- Gerard O-Hanlon
Sj, Hope, Promotio Iustitiae, No. 97, 2007/4 pg 33
- Compendium
of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral
Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Second Vatican
Council, (1965)
- Gaudium et
Spes (1965)
- Gerard O-Hanlon
Sj, Hope, Promotio Iustitiae, No. 97, 2007/4 pg 34
- Populorum
Progressio, Pope Paul VI, 1967.
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