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Statement
from Archbishop Pius Ncube
Pius
Ncube
September 11, 2007
Today the Vatican will
publicise their acceptance of an offer of resignation tendered to
them by myself in July. I wrote to the Pope within days of what
was obviously a State driven, vicious attack not just on myself,
but by proxy on the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe. In order to spare
my fellow Bishops and the body of the Church any further attacks,
I decided this was the best course of action. It has been necessary
for me to wait for the Vatican to acknowledge my resignation before
making it public. It is my feeling that I should face this case
in court as Pius Ncube, an individual, not that the Holy Catholic
Church of God should seem to be on trial because I am its head.
I know that there will
be many of you who will be bitterly disappointed at my leaving my
post as Archbishop of Bulawayo - and a few who will be delighted,
seeing their mission as having been accomplished. To the many thousands
of Catholics and ordinary Zimbabweans as well as those in the international
community who have stood by me in my hour of need, who have offered
their prayers and stood in solidarity with me, I thank you all from
the depths of my heart.
I remain a Catholic Bishop
in Zimbabwe, and will continue to speak out on the issues that sadly
become more acute by the day. I am committed to the Word of Our
Lord Jesus Christ, and see my decision as opening up new opportunities
to serve Him through serving the poor and suffering of Zimbabwe,
who sadly become more numerous and more impoverished every day.
I remain unshakably committed
to the Mission declared by Christ: "The Spirit of the Lord
is upon me for he has anointed me to bring the good news to the
afflicted. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives, sight
to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim a year of
favour from the Lord". [Luke 4: 18-19].
Recent events have brought
me closer to God and have given me a clearer sense of mission. I
have not been silenced by the crude machinations of a wicked regime.
I am committed to promoting the social teachings of the Church,
and to working among the poorest and most needy in Zimbabwe. My
wish is to be a lowly servant of all: as stated by Jesus, "I
came not to be served, but to serve." [Matthew 20:28]
I will use my experiences
working among the people to lobby for greater humanitarian support,
in particular for food and medical supplies at this time of extreme
national crisis. I have various options available at the moment,
both within the Church and within the civic movement, and will decide
in the next few weeks which will provide the best platform to continue
with God's work. My passion is to get closer to God through
prayer and to preach the Gospel so that people move away from selfishness
to care for God and others, and to fight for human rights. "Go
out to the whole world, proclaim the Gospel to all creation."
[Mark 16:15].
May God bless and be
with all of us.
+Pius Ncube
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