The ManicaPost
Chenai Mutasa Post Correspondent
THE Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference last week released their political pastoral letter titled “The march has not ended”.
One wonders which march has not yet ended.
Who is marching and why is he or she marching? What has prompted the march and why has it not ended?
By such a title, the bishops are saying their regime change agenda, which was thwarted by Government on July 31, is still ongoing.
Through the letter, the bishops reduced the pulpit to a political rally.
They uttered unsubstantiated claims against the Government.
But were the bishops only used as megaphones of a document authored somewhere by the country’s detractors?
The bishops, as ordained men of God, should know that a church pulpit is sacred. It should be a place where believers use to contact the Lord when they choose to come forward to cast their burdens unto Him.
The pulpit is an exalted place, the holiest part of the temple.
When choosing to use it, one has to check his or her books with God to see whether they are good or bad.
If they have been sinful, they seek peace and forgiveness before occupying the pulpit.
The same pulpit must be a place reserved for the priest of the temple. He or she stands there and distributes the divine and sacred heavenly bread to God’s people.
However, the Catholic bishops have chosen to distribute political messages aimed at inciting people to revolt against the Government using the pulpit as their cover.
The bishops have chosen to defile the pulpit.
In their letter, the bishops erroneously state that,” Some of our people continue to live in hideouts, with others incarcerated while others are on the run.”
The bishops didn’t mention names of those living in hideouts and those on the run.
They really tried very hard to exaggerate the ‘crisis’ in Zimbabwe to satisfy their own egos and maybe those of their handlers.
The bishops did not speak like ordained men of God. They spoke like commissars of opposition political parties, like people who were hired to incite people to revolt against the Government.
In their pastoral letter that has been widely condemned by a large section of the society, the Catholic bishops made astonishing allegations that there is a “multi-layered crisis of the convergence of economic collapse, deepening poverty, food insecurity, corruption and human rights abuses.”
Shockingly, the bishops did not mention that the economic crisis we are facing as a country is because of almost two decades of illegal sanctions.
The bishops also did not mention that the food insecurity in the country is partly because of climate change, successive droughts and natural disasters such as Cyclone Idai.
The bishops chose to turn a blind eye to the cause of Zimbabwe’s calamity and focused on exaggerating the situation on the ground.
If the bishops had genuine concerns over the affairs of the country, why didn’t they seek audience with President Mnangagwa considering that he has an open door policy?
These bishops should be reminded not to hide behind the Holy Book to pursue selfish political maneuvers.
The political stance taken by the Catholic bishops should be condemned as it is bent on opening old wounds, promoting tribalism and lawlessness in the country.
These bishops should not claim to be apolitical when their so-called pastoral letter is full of opposition diction. They should desist from being willing tools of the West in its tireless effort to push for regime change in Zimbabwe.
It is clear that the bishops are in unison with the subversive plans of the opposition to remove the constitutionally elected Government.
Their pastoral letter was bent on stirring up people’s emotions and eventually splitting the unitary State of Zimbabwe through garbage sermons clothed as pastoral letters.
But in as much as the conduct of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference is disgusting, it is not surprising.
Catholic bishops were on the forefront of inciting violence between the Tutsi and Hutus in Rwanda, leading to the death of thousands of Rwandese.
Archbishop Thaddée Ntihinyurwa, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Rwanda, priests Athanase Seromba and Wenceslas Munyeshyaka were later jailed for their participation during the Rwanda genocide.
But does the Holy Bible say about the clergy meddling in politics?
“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way,” 1 Timothy 2:1-2 says.
Therefore Bible allows the clergymen to meddle in politics.
However, their role is to pray for those in authority, not being political commentators or activists.
Titus 3:1 also says, “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work.”
The Bible wants our clergy to be submissive to the country’s rulers.
The Catholic bishops now have two options. They can either be shepherds and repositories of moral teachings for Zimbabwean Christians or join the political fray full time.
The choice is theirs but they can’t have it both ways.
