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Statement
of Solidarity with Archbishop Pius Ncube
Christians Together for Justice and Peace (CTJP)
June 10, 2004
We are an ecumenical
group of church leaders, based in Bulawayo and representing a wide diversity
of Christian traditions. We have a common concern for the kingdom values
of truth, justice and peace and are committed to working together and
supporting one another to this end, in Christian solidarity. The Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo, Pius Ncube, is a respected and valued
member of our group.
We note with deep
concern the recent personal attacks by Mr Mugabe upon Archbishop Pius
and other church leaders. When interviewed on Sky News he made a scathing
attack on the Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town and Nobel Peace Prize laureate,
Desmond Tutu, labeling him "an angry, evil and embittered little
bishop". He proceeded to belittle the enormous contribution Tutu
had made towards the ending of apartheid in South Africa, and then later
in the interview linked him to Archbishop Pius with these words: "That’s
another Tutu, the bishop, an unholy man. He thinks he is holy and telling
lies all the day, every day".
We have to say that
we find these words so offensive and insulting that we cannot think any
true national leader would ever utter them. Moreover it goes beyond a
personal attack upon the revered church leaders concerned because within
the Church, the body of Christ, "if one part suffers, every part
suffers with it" (1 Corinthians 12/26). We therefore take Mr Mugabe’s
words as a direct attack upon the Church itself. We feel the pain and
share the offense of these harsh words directed at both Archbishop Tutu
and Archbishop Ncube. If they are "angry", "evil"
and "telling lies" then, in Christian solidarity, so are we.
In reality what we are witnessing here is a serious attack upon the Church
itself – or rather upon that part of the body of Christ which the ruling
elite has not been able either to cower into silence through fear or to
neutralize through the promise of patronage. It is an attack upon what
we might call the "Confessing Church" in Zimbabwe, alluding
to the group of Christian leaders of that name who would not be cowed
into silence or "bought" by the Nazi regime in Germany, but
who bravely resisted that evil tyranny, at great personal cost.
If we are attacked
or threatened by the powers then so be it. We are proud to take our stand
alongside Archbishops Ncube and Tutu. Our mandate as church leaders in
resisting an evil tyranny and in witnessing to the truth, justice and
peace of the Gospel is derived from the Scriptures themselves. Specifically
here we might quote the divine word given through the prophet Ezekiel:
"… this is
what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only
take care of themselves ! … As surely as I live … because my flock lacks
a shepherd and so has become plundered and has become food for all the
wild animals …I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable
for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock … I will rescue
my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them"
(Ezekiel 34/2, 8, 10)
(Space does not
here permit but it is worth reading the whole passage to feel the full
force of the prophetic denunciation of the failed shepherds of Israel)
Let the Church of
Christ stand together against all slanders and threats. We have a divine
mandate to challenge and confront sin, especially the sin of the rulers
which causes untold suffering to the children of God. Our allegiance is
not to any human ruler but to the King of kings and Lord of lords!
Visit
the CTJP fact sheet
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