GOD HEARS THE CRY OF THE OPPRESSED
Pastoral
Letter by the
on the
Current Crisis of Our Country
Holy
As your Shepherds we have reflected on our national situation
and, in the light of the Word of God and Christian Social Teaching, have
discerned what we now share with you, in the hope of offering guidance, light
and hope in these difficult times.
The Crisis
The people
of
In
In our
prayer and reflection during this Lent, we have tried to understand the reasons
why this is so. We have concluded that the crisis of our Country is, in
essence, a crisis of governance and a crisis of leadership apart from being a
spiritual and moral crisis.
A Crisis of Governance
The
national health system has all but disintegrated as a result of prolonged
industrial action by medical professionals, lack of drugs, essential equipment
in disrepair and several other factors.
In the
educational sector, high tuition fees and levies, the lack of teaching and
learning resources, and the absence of teachers have brought activities in many
public schools and institutions of higher education to a standstill. The number
of students forced to terminate their education is increasing every month. At
the same time, Government interference with the provision of education by
private schools has created unnecessary tension and conflict.
Public
services in
The erosion
of the public transport system has negatively affected every aspect of our
Country's economy and social life. Horrific accidents claim the lives of dozens
of citizens each month.
Almost two
years after the Operation Murambatsvina, thousands of victims are still without
a home. That inexcusable injustice has not been forgotten.
Following a
radical land reform programme seven years ago, many people are today going to
bed hungry and wake up to a day without work. Hundreds of companies were forced
to close. Over 80 per cent of the people of
Inflation
has soared to over 1,600 per cent, and continues to rise, daily. It is the
highest in the world and has made the life of ordinary Zimbabweans unbearable,
regardless of their political preferences. We are all concerned for the
turnaround of our economy but this will remain a dream unless corruption is
dealt with severely irrespective of a person's political or social status or
connections.
The list of
justified grievances is long and could go on for many pages.
The
suffering people of
A Crisis of Moral Leadership
The crisis
of our Country is, secondly, a crisis of leadership. The burden of that crisis
is borne by all Zimbabweans, but especially the young who grow up in search of
role models. The youth are influenced and formed as much by what they see their
elders doing as by what they hear and learn at school or from their peers.
If our
young people see their leaders habitually engaging in acts and words which are
hateful, disrespectful, racist, corrupt, lawless, unjust, greedy, dishonest and
violent in order to cling to the privileges of power and wealth, it is highly
likely that many of them will behave in exactly the same manner. The
consequences of such overtly corrupt leadership as we are witnessing in
A Spiritual and Moral Crisis
Our crisis
is not only political and economic but first and foremost a spiritual and moral
crisis. As the young independent nation struggles to find its common national
spirit, the people of
The Roots of the Crisis
The present
crisis in our Country has its roots deep in colonial society. Despite the
rhetoric of a glorious socialist revolution brought about by the armed
struggle, the colonial structures and institutions of pre-independent
Why was
this done? Because soon after
The
confrontation in our Country has now reached a flashpoint. As the suffering
population becomes more insistent, generating more and more pressure through
boycotts, strikes, demonstrations and uprisings, the State responds with ever
harsher oppression through arrests, detentions, banning orders, beatings and
torture. In our judgement, the situation is extremely volatile. In order to
avoid further bloodshed and avert a mass uprising the nation needs a new people
driven Constitution that will guide a democratic leadership chosen in free and
fair elections that will offer a chance for economic recovery under genuinely
new policies.
Our Message of Hope: God is always on the Side
of the Oppressed
The Bible
has much to say about situations of confrontation. The conflict between the
oppressor and the oppressed is a central theme throughout the Old and New
Testaments.3 Biblical scholars have discovered that there are no less than
twenty different root words in Hebrew to describe oppression.
One example
is the Creed of the chosen people, which we read on the First Sunday of Lent:
"My Father was a homeless Aramaean. He went down to
The Bible
describes oppression in concrete and vivid terms: Oppression is the experience
of being crushed, degraded, humiliated, exploited, impoverished, defrauded,
deceived and enslaved. And the oppressors are described as cruel, ruthless,
arrogant, greedy, violent and tyrannical; they are called 'the enemy'. Such
words could only have been used by people who in their own lives and history
had an immediate and personal experience of being oppressed. To them Yahweh
revealed himself as the God of compassion who hears the cry of the oppressed
and who liberates them from their oppressors. The God of the Bible is always on
the side of the oppressed. He does not reconcile Moses and Pharaoh, or the
Hebrew slaves with their Egyptian oppressors. Oppression is sin and cannot be
compromised with. It must be overcome. God takes sides with the oppressed. As
we read in Psalm 103:6: "God, who does what is right, is always on the
side of the oppressed".4
When
confronted with the politically powerful, Jesus speaks the language of the
boldest among
Throughout
the history of the Church, persecuted Christians have remembered, prayed and sung
the prophetic words of Mary: "[The Lord] has used the power of his arm, he has routed the arrogant of heart. He has pulled down
princes from their thrones and raised high the lowly. He has filled the
starving with good things, sent the rich away empty" (Lk1:50-53).
Generations
of Zimbabweans, too, throughout their own long history of oppression and their
struggle for liberation, have remembered, prayed and sung these texts from the
Old and New Testaments and found strength, courage and perseverance in their
faith that Jesus is on their side. That is the message of hope we want to
convey in this Pastoral Letter: God is on your side. He always hears the cry of
the poor and oppressed and saves them.
Conclusion
We conclude
our Pastoral Letter by affirming with a clear and unambiguous Yes our support
of morally legitimate political authority. At the same time we say an equally
clear and unambiguous No to power through violence, oppression and
intimidation. We call on those who are responsible for the current crisis in
our Country to repent and listen to the cry of their citizens. To the people of
Words call
for concrete action, for symbols and gestures which keep our hope alive. We
therefore invite all the faithful to a Day of Prayer and Fasting for
May the
Peace and Hope of the Risen Lord be with you always.
Happy Easter.
PRAYER FOR
OUR COUNTRY
God Our
Father,
You have
given all peoples one common origin,
And your
will is to gather them as one family in yourself.
Give
compassion to our leaders, integrity to our citizens, and repentance to us all.
Fill the hearts of all women and men with your love And
the desire to ensure justice for all their brothers and sisters. By sharing the
good things you give us May we ensure justice and equality for every human
being, An end to all division, and a human society built on love, Lasting
prosperity and peace for all. We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Our Father
-- Hail Mary -- Glory be to the Father
+Robert C.
Ndlovu, Archbishop of
+Pius Alec
M. Ncube, Archbishop of
+Alexio
Churu Muchabaiwa, Bishop of Mutare
(ZCBC Secretary/Treasurer)
+Michael D.
Bhasera, Bishop of Masvingo
+Angel
Floro, Bishop of Gokwe
(ZCBC Vice President)
+Martin
Munyanyi, Bishop of Gweru
+Dieter B.
Scholz SJ, Bishop of Chinhoyi
+Albert
Serrano, Bishop of Hwange
+Patrick M.
Mutume, Auxiliary Bishop of Mutare