wfn.org | Zimbabwe Crises - Catholic Bishops Statement

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

In the face of great criticism from the people of Zimbabwe that the Church is
silent, herewith is the recently published joint Lenten Pastoral Letter by
the
Catholic Bishops in Zimbabwe regarding the crises facing the troubled
country.

LENTEN PASTORAL LETTER
MARCH 2003

A CALL TO METANOIA: LISTEN TO THE INNER VOICE

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We greet you and we pray that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of
God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.

1.	Introduction:

During this Lenten Season, Our Lord is once again calling us to genuine
repentance: "The time has come, and the Kingdom of God is close at hand.
Repent,
and believe the Good News" (Mk. 1:15). We your Bishops would like to invite
each
one of you to seriously reflect upon these words so that they may not remain
mere words, but transform the life of each of the faithful and have a
positive
impact on the lives of all people of goodwill. In the Liturgical cycle of
ther
Church, this Lenten Season is meant for every Christian to scrutinize
oneself,
reflect on one's ways of living, call upon God for forgiveness of sins and be
renewed in righteousness and grace. Only through true repentance can we be
healed and live. For Jesus clearly says: "I have not come to call the
virtuous,
but sinners to repentance!" (Lk. 5:32). In this proclamation Jesus states the
programme of his ministry: to call all mankind in and through His life, death
and resurrection to conversion and witness. People of every culture and every
age a
re called to this conversion and to respond in commitment and faith. In order
to realize and acknowledge our own sinfulness, we need to look into our
conscience, a God-given gift that inwardly teaches us what is good and what
is
evil and how to make the right choices.

2.	The Mission of the Church

We your Bishops have spoken many times through our Pastoral letters,
Statements
and Instructions on various matters affecting the lives of our people. Our
mandate and mission came from Christ himself who was anointed by the Father
in
order to bring about the Kingdom of God: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me
because he has anointed me to preach the Good News to the poor. He has sent
me
to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to
set
at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the
Lord"
(Lk. 4:18-19). Before he ascended to heaven, Christ gave clear instructions
to
the group of Apostles he had carefully chosen to continue his mission so that
all mankind may come to the knowledge of the Gospel and bear witness to the
Gospel values and teaching. Christ said: "Go, therefore, make disciples of
all
the nations; baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you" (Mt.
28:19-
20). It is in this spirit that we, your leaders in faith, come to share with
you in conviction what this faith invites us to do as a church in Zimbabwe
today. This sharing is aimed at both challenging our conscience as well as
inspiring us to respond in faith to those same Gospel values land commands of
Christ that we are meant to bear witness to in our daily lives. The purpose
of
this letter therefore is not to accuse anyone, but to fulfil a prophetic
mission
in the face of common concerns.

3.	Compassion and Concern

Our Lord Jesus Christ spent his whole life doing good, teaching, healing,
forgiving, comforting and showing compassion and concern for all forms of
human
suffering. At the same time, he openly confronted the evils that oppress
people.
The Church as the visible sign of Christ today imitates him in showing
compassion and concern for the suffering. We, your Bishops, note with great
concern the various complex factors that continues to bring this suffering to
our people. The greatest of these factors is sin, which is both personal and
structural. During this time of Lent, we intend this letter to arouse the
conscience of the people as well as to be a word of encouragement to all who
hear or read it and turn to God. A change of heart is needed of each believer
in
order to transform our society and rid all of suffering and oppression by
ridding ourselves of our sinful ways. Our social, economic and political
structures should also be a means for expressing this compassion and concern
for
people.

We stress what we already said before as we appealed for 'change of heart' in
our country, "It is at this point that we must appeal to you, our brothers
and
sisters in Christ, and to your Christian consciences. Your own personal
contribution and sacrifice is needed". (Socialism and the Gospel of Christ,
ZCBC
Pastoral Statement, Jan. 1984,p.4). Therefore we need a change of heart and a
radical transformation of the structures of sin.

4.	The Social Teaching of the Church

Following the mission of the Church, the social teaching of the Church
emanates
from the teaching of the Gospel of Christ. The Church Fathers have
articulated
from the Gospel teachings and God's commandments, principles and guidelines
that
indicate how every human being and society should act and live. They also
should
inform the way we structure our society. The principles include respect for
life
and the dignity of the human person; the need for social solidarity
especially
with the poor and marginalized; the search for the common good, the principle
of
subsidiarity which requires that decisions are made as close as possible to
their points of implementation; the stewardship of the environment - the
creation of God. These are indeed basic requirements that should be respected
and honoured by every human being.

These requirements summarized in the social teaching of the Church act as a
thermometer to our conscience and test our way of living. It is during this
season of Lent that we should give ourselves time to reflect on some of these
important principles so that our own lives may truly bear witness to Christ's
call to uprightness. While all human beings have recognized rights as well as
duties, the God-given right to life is of paramount importance and must be
upheld by all. For a balance of rights and duties to prevail, mankind needs
dutifully to obey God.

Pope John XXIII clearly states, "Peace on earth, which all men of every era
have most eagerly yearned for, can be firmly established only if the order
laid
down by God be dutifully observed" (Peace On Earth, John XXIII, no.1,p.7). IN
January 2003, Pope John Paul II wrote for the 'World Day of Peace' a document
to
commemorate forty years of Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth) of Pope John
XXIII.
"The Encyclical spoke to everyone of their belonging to the one human
familyl,
and shone a light on the shared aspiration of people everywhere to live in
security, justice and hope for the future" (Pacem in Terris: A permanent
Commitment, John Paul II, on World Day of Peace, 1 Jan. 2003, no.3,p.4). What
is
of great importance is to highlight the four pillars of Peace that the
Pontiff
enumerated. "With the profound intuition that characterized him, John XXIII
identified the essential conditions for peace in four precise requirements of
the human spirit: truth, justice, love and freedom" (World Day of Peace, John
Paul I
I, 1 Jan. 2003, no. 3,p.5).

We your Shepherds see it as relevant and urgent to uphold these four pillars
and invite all of you to reflect upon them, especially in our context in
Zimbabwe and during this period of Lent. We must also reflect on the
character
of our social institutions to see how they can fulfil the conditions for
peace.
The Social teachings of the Church have become more relevant to us than ever
before and hence we call upon all the faithful and people of goodwill to have
a
sincere introspection and utilize this season for true repentance and turn to
God in our everyday lives.

5.	The current situation

We must acknowledge with gratitude to God, the good efforts you as Christians
are making in response to your Christian call to be light and salt in society
and thus bear witness to Christ. Further, we appreciate your contribution
towards the material, spiritual and moral development of the Church and our
beloved nation. We also appreciate efforts made by various people and social
organisations in working towards the establishment of a better society. In
spite
of all these efforts economic inequalities have become worse, the gap between
the rich and the poor has continued to widen. People have continued to suffer
social and political violence. There is no sign that corruption is being
dealt
with effectively. Government has failed to provide leadership that enables
the
creation of an environment that enhances truth, justice, love and freedom.
This
can be seen in how the media has been polarized and how democratic
institutions
and processes have been tampered with.

However, we cannot ignore some elements which need to be challenged by the
Gospel if we are to be more faithful to and better witnesses of Christ our
model. "Do not model yourselves on the behaviour of the world around you.."
(Rom. 12:2). We note with sadness that at times as Christians we have failed
to
adhere to the standard of Christ and have followed the model of the world and
hence we come into suffering and pain that only Christ can set us free from.
As
Paul says: "But it is not just creation alone which groans; we, who have the
Spirit as the first of God's gifts also groan within ourselves, as we wait
for
God to make us his sons and set our whole being free" (Rm. 8:23). While our
nation is in a transitional period at the moment, the majority of people are
experiencing hardships and suffering.

Due to the decline of the economic situation, basic commodities have become
scarce. The majority of ordinary people in this country struggle and often
fail
to get basic commodities like mealie meal, bread, sugar, cooking oil,
paraffin,
petrol, sanitary pads, cotton wool and peace of mind. This is without
mentioning
jobs, homes, security, freedom of expression and association as scarce
commodities. On the other hand, the few commodities that are available are
often
sold on the black market at unaffordable prices. The sense of concern for one
another is completely submerged in an attempt to make as high a profit as
possible. Again, we implore all those who supply, particularly basic
commodities
to others, to rekindle their spirit of honesty and solidarity with the
ordinary
people, particularly the less fortunate members of our society.

6.	Aspects that raise Concerns

We are fully aware that our nation has inherited a complexity of inequalities
from the colonial period to the present. Some of these complexities have been
engraved into our culture so that not even our laws have managed to rectify
them. We all rejoiced, when we gained independence in the hope that we were
all
going to work in unity as a nation to remove the inequalities and injustices
that prevailed then. We also know that change and development are a process
and
not an event.

There are, however some developments which are a cause of some concern to us.

6.1	The culture of violence in our society

It is historically true that our country was colonized in a violent manner.
Our
forefathers fought for their land, but were violently defeated by the new
settlers. After the first phase, the nationalists tried to negotiate a power
sharing settlement with the new occupiers, but to no avail. The response to
this
failure was a resort to armed struggle where violence was used on both sides.
For instance the Bishops' Commission of Justice and Peace stated: "Both sides
pursue their aspirations in the name of justice and peace. While the
politicians
push their strident rhetoric, now for black majority rule, now for white
power,
the focus of the fight - the people who live in the country - experience
increased violence and a desperate helplessness" (The Man in the Middle, by
CCJP
and Catholic Institute for International Relations, 1975, p.1). Evenutally
the
struggle brought independence. The philosophy that if you wanted to attain
success, violence is the means, seems to have been sown into our nation.

After independence, for a while there was peace in the land, but with the
development of Opposition parties in the last parliamentary elections,
violence
once again erupted. The competing parties engaged in acts of political
violence
as a tool to success. There were accusations and counter accusations from all
those involved. The faithful too belong to the various parties and were also
perpetrators as well as victims of violence. Violence once more came to the
forefront during the period of land occupation and land redistribution. Some
members of our society felt that only through violence could injustice be
rectified. But violence breeds violence. Not only on the national level, but
at
times on the community and family level the culture of violence has been
witnessed. We, your Shepherds condemn all acts of violence, including
inherited
institutionalized violence of injustice. Our society needs to develop and
cultivate more a culture of tolerance and unity in diversity. We remind you
of
what we already sa
id, "We, the Catholic Bishops of Zimbabwe, urge the government, the private
sector and indeed all the people of Zimbabwe to make every effort to foster
this
culture of tolerance and to work for unity to rebuild our nation" (Tolerance
and
Hope, ZCBC Pastoral Letter, May 2001). The acts of violence, especially in
the
recent past, render a disservice to the processes of nation building, unity
and
peace. Even when we have cause to correct injustices, we need to remember the
ethical principle that the end does not justify the means.

6.2	Governance

We your Pastors, remember the remarkable start that the Government had at
independence. We re-state that it "made remarkable efforts at reconciliation
ever since it first took office at Independence in 1980. Its essential task
is
to forge the many peoples of Zimbabwe into one nation, living at peace with
itself and with others" (Reconciliation is still Possible, a Pastoral
Statement
of ZCBC, Easter, 1983, no.1). We call upon the government to continue to
create
an atmosphere of nation-building and peace.

It is sad to note that attitudes and entrenched positions have become
polarized
rather than accommodative. The responsibility of government is to govern all
citizens including persons and groups of communities of differing
persuasions.
The government is not only for the ruling party, but must protect all its
citizens, their rights, as well as their welfare. All arms of the government
must do their duties and be allowed to carry out their responsibilities with
impartiality. Preferential treatment and selective justice undermines the
stability and credibility of the government. We condemn some members of
Government who have practiced partiality, have openly refused to serve people
who do not belong to their own party, for this discredits the proper manner
of
governance. "When a country assumes political independence and becomes self
governing, there is a need for the participation of all the people in the
governance of the country. Hence, the citizens of an independent nation have
the
right to participate i
n the decision making process of the country directly or through their
representatives" (The African Bishops on Human Rights, pub. Paulines, 1995,
p.97).

We as teachers, therefore call upon government to carry out its duties to all
its citizens with fairness and commitment. It should be clear to citizens as
well as government that "no social group or political party has the right to
monopolise power". (The Conscience of Society, ed. Mejia, SJ, pub. Paulines,
2001, p.95). In face, power rests with the people who should duly elect
whatever
party or whoever they choose according to the just laws of the country. The
question of just laws is absolutely important. Hence the need to safeguard
just
laws and develop a balanced Constitution that removes unjust structures.

6.3	Corruption

The African Bishops during the Africa Synod in Rome in 1994 highlighted many
of
the cultural values found among the African peoples. These are values not
only
to talk about but to adhere to and live by them. The Bishops said, African
cultures have an acute sense of solidarity and community of life in the
extended
family. Feasts are celebrated with the whole village. Africa must preserve
this
priceless cultural heritage and never succumb to the temptation of
individualism
which is so alien to its best traditions" (Africa Synod, simplified text,
no.43,
pub. Paulines, p.28).

Unfortunately, we are witnessing the erosion ofr some of these values within
our society. Both in the private and public sectors corrupt practices are
becoming increasingly common. It is demoralizing to witness that at times
even
some law-enforcement agents are also found participating in corrupt
activities
for selfish reasons. People have tended to become more individualistic in
pursuance of hedonistic values. Because the principle of survival of the
fittest
seems to apply as people become more materialistic, values of community and
concern for each other are no longer appealing. As people want to get rich
quick, and at times without seat, corrupt practices are slowly eating our
values
away. The level of corruption is in fact frightening as it has embraced both
the
leadership levels as well as many of the ordinary citizens. In addition to
corruption, there is a high degree of abuse of women, children, public
offices,
all driven by a high degree of human greed which has been demonstrated in the
context of
  current shortages of commodities. Current shortages of basic commodities
have
provided an opportunity for corruption by people in strategic positions
including government ministers and other government officials.

In appealing to the conscience of everyone, we remind you of what we have
already said before; it is disheartening that, "Those with strong elbows grab
a
big slice, trampling the weaker ones underfoot. Almost every day the media
tell
us about embezzlement, corruption and large-scale theft. There is much
irresponsibility in the use of public assets. There is much dishonesty: even
people who consider themselves respectable engage in stealing at the
workplace,
bank fraud, and white-collar crime, while pick pocketing, burglaries and
violent
robberies are on the increase. Leaders have been hiding immoral behaviur
behind
facades of respectability" (Responsibility-Honesty-Solidarity, ZCBC Pastoral
Statement, April 1997, p.2) We therefore strongly condemn all such corruption
that will surely destroy our society. We encourage the re-cultivation of our
cultural values that will enhance the sharing and solidarity of our nation.

6.4	Food distribution

We deeply appreciate the humanitarian assistance that the international
community, churches and NGOs are giving to our needy people. We appeal to
them
to continue the good assistance in the spirit of solidarity. There is immense
starvation in the country due to drought and poor planning on the part of our
government. It is no longer a hunger confined to rural areas, but to urban
areas
as well. However we are disappointed by the bureaucracy and cumbersome
processes
that have been put in place by government in order to procure the much needed
food and grain for the people. The situation calls for concerted effort by
government, churches, NGOs and all people of goodwill to assist each other in
the spirit of solidarity in providing food for all the people of Zimbabwe.

We want to acknowledge with gratitude the response of our brothers and
sisters
in Christ, to our appeal for food. Many organisations have taken it upon
themselves to assist our nation in these difficult times. However, we are
greatly disturbed by corrupt practices mainly by some GMB officials, drought
relief committees, some councilors, chiefs, headmen, as well as war veterans.
Some NGOs have been intimidated and harassed by political activists and some
stopped distributing food all together. The need for food is so great that
the
government cannot feed all the people alone. It needs help, and therefore
must
facilitate easier distribution of food, as in the previous droughts that this
country has gone through. People's lives are at stake and the nation cannot
afford to entertain the politicization of food while people are starving.
This
is immoral. It is our sincere hope that everybody has learnt from these
mistakes.

 From the standpoint of moral concern, we call upon government, especially
the
individuals that represent government on the ground, to deal urgently with
those
elements in our society that have placed themselves above the law and are
constantly harassing other citizens. The demand for citizens to produce a
party
card before receiving food should be stopped forthwith. This violates the
individual's freedom of association. Those harassing other citizens should be
brought to book. We are one nation and the food should be distributed to all
the
needy people of Zimbabwe without fear or favour.

6.5	The state of the economy

Zimbabwe's economy was one of the strongest economies on the whole continent.
Such an economy assisted the state to maintain the rights of every individual
to
an adequate standard of living. These rights includes the right to adequate
food, the right to health, the right to adequate clothing, the right to
shelter
and housing and the right to continuous improvement in the conditions of
living"
(The African Bishops on Human Rights, pub. Paulines, 2001,p.193).

Unfortunately the same economy was controlled by a few. In the attempt to
have
a broad based economy there were many forces and factors that militated
against
the process. On the one hand there was selfishness of wanting to continuous
control over the economy, on the other, there was bad planning with political
decisions dictating economic processes. Other factors such as :stay aways: by
employees, lack of enough export produce, growth of the parallel market, lack
of
foreign currency, lack of proper funding for the land-reform programme,
disruption of farming activities, lack of confidence of investors, and other
factors, culminated in the drastic weakening of the Zimbabwe dollar and
non-growth of the economy. Because of the decline of the economy the lives of
the citizens are affected adversely and poverty has increased. It therefore
follows that the rights of individuals stated above can no longer be
sustained.
In these circumstances the rich become richer while the poor drown into
abject
poverty. Explo
itation of each other has become the order of the day, for the sake of making
ends meet.

In his message of Lent this year, the Holy Father says, "Exploitation of
others, indifference towards the suffering of our brothers and sisters and
the
violation of basic rules of morality are just a few fruits of the thirst for
gain. Faced with the tragic situation of persistent poverty which afflicts so
many people in our world, how can we fail to see that the quest for profit at
any cost and the lack of effective, responsible concern for the common good
have
concentrated immense resources in the hands of a few while the rest of
humanity
suffers in poverty and neglect?" (John Paul II Message for Lent, 2003, no.2)
For
our economy to turn round, all involved, the private sector, government,
donors,
should engage in meaningful dialogue and have the sincerity and commitment
for
real development.

6.6	Adequate health services for all

We acknowledge with appreciation the great strides that the government of
Zimbabwe made in the health sector after independence. Many rural hospitals
were
upgraded and renovated, a lot of clinics were built to bring health services
nearer to the thousands of people who had no easy access to these facilities.
The dream at independence was "Health for all by the year 2000"! Alas, this
dream was never to come true.

The situation in hospitals and health centers has deteriorated to shocking
levels. Drugs are scarce and if available, the ordinary people are unable to
buy
them. To make matters worse, the HIV/AIDS pandemic is ravaging our society
and
Zimbabwe has one of the highest rates of infection in sub-Saharan Africa. We
call upon government, especially the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, to
get priorities right. Caring for the sick is a calling from God of special
dignity and importance. It can never be seen as just another job or another
way
of earning one's living. While we greatly value the generous dedication to
service of many of those who work in the medical field, we cannot ignore the
fact that the quality of medical care is often seriously inadequate, e.g.
patients being unattended to for long periods of time; the lack of commitment
on
the part of some personnel, the failure to recognize each patient as one's
brother or sister in need. We therefore remind the ministry and all health
workers that:

I	Equity among citizens and the demands of justice call for policies
which aim to provide adequate health care for all without distinction. The
following principles have always guided us in this vital area of concern.
I	Life is sacred. It is a gift from God to be valued from the moment of
conception until natural death.
I	Human beings can never be reduced to the status of objects
We recognize that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit.
I	Every person is of equal dignity. The value of life is not to be
measured by one's age, possessions, or position in society

6.7	The young are an essential asset for any nation. They represent the
future of a nation. The values and virtues of a society, its structures and
institutions are passed on through the youth. For any society to service, it
ought to pass on to its youth those values which are life-giving. We have
said,
as the Church the pillars of peace, namely: truth, justice, love and freedom
are
the values that will build up our nation. It is disheartening to observe the
systematic undermining of these essential values through the National Youth
Service. The current means and facilities for the programme could be used to
teach our youngsters out of school, skills, and give them professional
training
for a job and employment that will give them a future, and the nation and
economy better service. Further, we urge all those who train the youth in
different for that they should teach them our African heritage and the
objective
history of our country. In particular, they should cultivate in the youth the
spirit of unity a
nd patriotism and thus prepare them to be responsible citizens and good
future
leaders. One should guard the youth against the spirit of indiscipline which
can
easily degenerate into a culture of violence.

7.	Way Forward

We call upon government to re-establish an environment of peace and justice
which encourages full participation of all citizens in the affairs of their
nation. The state machinery and the government must be seen to uphold the
rights
of its nationals. We are in some sense blessed that our structures and
institutions have not completely collapsed, as has happened elsewhere. This
is
therefore a basis for having hope to reconstruct our society in a positive
way.
But this will require the effort and participation of everyone. Therefore we
encourage meaningful dialogue to take place so that our country can resolve
the
issues at stake. Without dialogue, a spirit of give and take, we cannot get
far
to resolve our impasse. Government has to take the lead in encouraging this
dialogue.

7.1	Purpose of public authority

Pope John XXIII clearly stated that the purpose of public authority is to
attain the common good. This is the guiding principle for all in public
responsibilities and offices. The task is even more imperative the greater
the
area to be served. This means that the government has a duty and
responsibility
to work for the common good and see to it that all its arms and state
institutions strive for the same goal. This important goal is to be attained
through the four pillars already mentioned above, truth, justice, love and
freedom. Pope John XXIII quoting Pope Leo XIII said, "The civil power must
not
serve the advantage of any one individual, or of some few persons, in as much
as
it was established for the common good of all" (Pacem in Terris, no.56,p.19).
As
your Shepherds, we once again remind those with public office that they have
a
duty to the nation, the whole nation, and must carry it out with diligence,
and
honour, that befits the office that they occupy.

7.2 Participation of all in public life

god has given various gifts to dirrerent people for the purpose of building
the
body of Christ. Similarly different people have been bestowed gifts to work
together in unity of purpose. "On each one of us God's favour has been
bestowed
in whatever way Christ has allotted itr To some his gift was that they should
be
apostles; to some prophets; to some evangelists; to some pastors and
teachers.."
(Eph. 4: 7-16). African society has traditionally captured this value in its
proverbs, e.g. Gunwe rimwe haritswanyi inda! (Many hands make work lighter).
This is a recognition of the gifts of all in the community and of allowing
these
gifts to flourish and be used for the building up of the same community. This
means each member of society is valuable. Therefore those who guide and lead
the
nation, of necessity, should allow the participation of all the members,
directly or through genuine representation to participate in issues of
national
affairs. It is again relevant to repeat what we said in our Pastoral Statem
ent Working for the Common Good, that "Our conviction is that if we are able
to
dialogue constructively, openly and widely, with a special concern for those
who
are vulnerable or in any way marginalized, we will unite together, whether
religious or not, as people of good will, for the common good of Zimbabwe and
its future generation" (Working for the Common Good, ZCBC Pastoral Statement,
May 1998, p.2). We therefore urge our government, its institutions and all
those
who are in public office, and all the citizens of Zimbabwe, to participate
positively in the affairs of public life.

7.3	A call on Catholic leaders

"It is the right and duty of Catholics and all citizens to seek the truth
with
sincerity and to promote and defend, by legitimate means, moral truths
concerning society, justice, freedom, respect for human life and the other
rights of the person should be upheld" (Doctrinal note, no.8, 2003). We your
Shepherds call upon all those Catholics who hold special responsibilities in
society, be it government, the business community or other spheres of
influence
to exercise your duties according to the social teaching of the Church. It is
your rights and also your duty as lay faithful to participate in 'public
life'
that is, in the many different economic, social, legislative, administrative
and
cultural areas which are intended for the common good of the people. We fully
support you in your positive contribution to nation building, as long as you
follow the Gospel teachings and values. "The social doctrine of the Church is
not an intrusion into the Government of individual countries. It is a
question
of the lay
Catholic's duty to be morally coherent found within one's conscience, which
is
one and indivisible. There cannot be two parallel lives in their existence,
the
Pope reminds you" (Christifideles laici, no.59). We therefore, dear brothers
and
sisters, cannot lead a double way of life, one for Sunday services in Church
and
another for our public tasks, be they political, economic, social or other
kind.
We are always called to be guided by our conscience and to live our Christian
faith as an integral unity.

7.4	Call to Prayer

We learn from the life of Jesus who prayed and kept in constant communication
with his Father that prayer is very important in our life. He prayed when he
selected the Apostles, he prayed when he fed the hungry, he prayed in the
garden
before his arrest, crucifixion and death, and on many other occasions. If
Jesus
prayed, we need to pray much more ourselves. The Holy Father has called for
intensified prayer for peace at the beginning of this Lent. He has also
encourage all of us to pray the rosary more, during this year of the rosary,
to
make intercession through Mary, the Mother of Jesus. We therefore call upon
all
the faithful to pray incessantly and fast for justice, peace, love and
freedom
in our country and in the world.

Conclusion

We are aware that there is a lot to reflect upon during this time of lent,
but
it is necessary for us to transform ourselves and our nation, so that we can
live in the Joy of the risen Lord, when we have overcome the difficulties we
are
going through. We are confident that when we all play our part, and fulfil
our
god-given call in truthfulness, God will bless our efforts and we will
succeed.
Zimbabwe has been a star, and this beautiful country can continue to shine
when
we are united and work together in truth, justice, love and freedom. We
conclude
with part of the Holy Father's message of Lent: The love of God poured into
our
hearts ought to inspire and transform who we are and what we do. Christians
must
not think that they can seek the true good of their brothers and sisters
without
embodying the charity of Christ. Even in those cases where they might succeed
in
improving aspects of social or political life, without charity every change
would remain short-lived. The possibility of giving oneself to o
thers is itself a gift which comes from the grace of God. As Saint Paul
teaches: 'God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good
pleasure'
Phil.2:13 (John Paul II, Message of Lent, 2003, no.4.)

+Mt Rev. Patrick F. Chakaipa of Harare
+Mt. Rev. Pius Alec V. Ncube of Bulawayo
+Rt. Rev. Michael D. Bhasera of Masvingo (ZCBC President)
+Rt. Rev. Francis Mugadzi of Gweru
+Rt. Rev. Alexio C. Muchabaiwa of Mutare
+Rt. Rev. Helmut Reckter SJ
+Rt. Rev. Robert C. Ndlovu of Hwange (Vice-President)
+Rt. Rev. Angel Floro of Gokwe
+Rt. Rev. Patrick M. lMutume, Auxiliary Bishop of Mutare