Archbishop affirms Zimbabwean bishops' support of national dialogue

Published: 2007-04-27

HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNS) -- The Zimbabwean bishops' Easter letter, which strongly criticizes President Robert Mugabe's government and calls for free elections, does not diminish the bishops' support for national dialogue, said the president of the bishops' conference. Mugabe's government, as a "key stakeholder," cannot be ignored in the process of seeking change in the country, Archbishop Robert Ndlovu of Harare told a two-day meeting of regional church and civil society leaders in the capital, Harare. But "engaging a stakeholder does not mean that you endorse" its policies, he said in an April 27 statement issued by the bishops' conference after the meeting. In response to questions on what actions would follow the bishops' letter, titled "God Hears the Cry of the Oppressed," Archbishop Ndlovu said people need "to pray, reflect and try to understand" the letter, which urged those responsible for the country's crisis to "repent and listen to the cry of their citizens." Zimbabwe is crippled by the highest rate of inflation in the world, unemployment of more than 80 percent, and shortages of foreign currency and fuel.

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