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Zimbabwe
crisis is moral, says bishop
Pat Ashworth,
Church Times
November 21,
2008
http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=66534
A deep moral
and spiritual crisis in Zimbabwe explains why the nation has become
so corrupt, the Bishop of Harare, Dr Sebastian Bakare, told the
Human Rights Conference in Lulea, Sweden, last week.
The social, economic,
and political challenges were just the tip of the iceberg,
Dr Bakare said in a keynote address on the place of the Church.
He lamented Zimbabwe's reputation as "a nation that
denies basic democratic principles and human rights", and
said that the majority of people were denied a meaningful life,
lacking "everything except the air they breathe". Those
benefiting from political patronage had access to all that made
life easier.
The voice of the Church
in Zimbabwe had not been loud enough to condemn the evil situation,
said the Bishop, who paid tribute to the courage of the Roman Catholic
Archbishop, the Rt Revd Pius Ncube, in speaking for the voiceless.
"But you all know
what sacrifices he had to make. And to make it worse, the Church
did not stand in solidarity with him when character assassination
was meted out against him."
The voice of the Church
"appears to be submerged by other noises, which include violence,
intimidation, arrests, and other forms of harassment. . . Some
clergy who have tried to speak out against the unjust political
system have been seriously warned and often silenced."
The Church had "not
listened to God enough to pass the message on to his people",
Dr Bakare said. The prophetic ministry it offered — which
he described as "a voice that instils in all persons a desire
to lead a truthful life marked by integrity rather than corruption"
— was not usually popular with those in power.
"Unless both the
Church and individuals speak out with loud voices condemning an
inhuman political system that disregards the principles of democracy,
dictatorship will be with us for a long time to come."
Six global ecumenical
organizations have called for affirmation of the right to life and
dignity for all Zimbabweans, and for a return of the rule of law.
Their joint statement, which was issued last week under the auspices
of the World Council of Churches, criticized the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) for letting down the people of Zimbabwe
over the power deal that is now deadlocked.
SADC and Zimbabwe's
political leaders had "once again squandered the opportunity
to take decisive, credible and transformative action", the
statement said.
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