Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Caesar Zvayi
31 August 2007
Harare — The Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference says it stands by the debauchery of embattled Archbishop for Bulawayo Diocese, Pius Ncube, who is being sued for $20 billion in adultery damages by a Bulawayo man who is accusing him of having a two-year relationship with his wife.
In a paid advertisement to The Herald, the Catholic Bishops described Archbishop Ncube as a "moral authority", equating the outrage generated by the adultery scandal to "an attack on the Church."
Over the years, the Catholic Church has been averse to publicity due to numerous sex-related scandals involving its priests, who are sworn to celibacy, with either young altar boys, fellow parishioners or their wives. The latest case was on July 15 when the Los Angeles Archdiocese announced the largest church settlement of sexual abuse lawsuits to date, agreeing to pay more than 500 alleged victims a total of US$660 million.
"We support him fully in his present painful personal situation and ask all our faithful to remember him in their prayers. The recent attacks by some politicians and the State media on the person of Archbishop Pius Ncube are outrageous and utterly deplorable. They constitute an assault on the Catholic Church, to which we take strong exception," the bishops said.
Mr Onesimus Sibanda is suing Archbishop Ncube for sleeping with his wife, Rosemary, who was a secretary in his parish. Mr Sibanda engaged the services of a private investigator who gathered a graphic video and pictorial evidence showing the Archbishop in compromising positions with Rosemary and many other women.
Archbishop Ncube - like all Catholic priests - is sworn to a vow of celibacy, which bars him from having sexual relations. Rosemary has since confessed to the adulterous affair while Archbishop Ncube has entered an appearance to defend the adultery suit at the Bulawayo High Court.
In trying to absolve Archbishop Ncube, the Catholic Bishops Conference, which is well-known for anti-Government invectives, accused the Government of "intensifying the hate propaganda and character assassination against . . . Archbishop Ncube", saying "he has courageously and, with moral authority, advocated social justice and political action to overcome the grievous crisis facing our country".
On many occasions, Archbishop Ncube has called for the intensification of the illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe.
He has also shocked many by revealing that he prayed for the President's death, and earlier this year, he called for a British invasion of Zimbabwe, statements that observers said were not in keeping with the work of God.
The bishops also reiterated the sentiments they raised in the Pastoral Letter they released in April, accusing the Government of economic mismanagement and violating human, civil and political rights. Responding to the ZCBC's statement, Secretary for Information and Publicity, Cde George Charamba, said: "Government is studying this amazing pronouncement from the Catholic Bishops. Prima facie, it would appear the bishops have decided to save one of their own while dumping the Church. It's an extraordinary posture and position."
In their Pastoral Letter released ahead of the Easter Holidays and signed by among others, ZCBC president Archbishop Robert Ndlovu of Harare, Archbishop Ncube and Alexio Muchabaiwa, the ZCBC blamed the Government and programmes like the land reform programme and Operation Murambatsvina for causing untold suffering to Zimbabweans.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2007 The Herald. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
