by Harare Post Reporter
The National Elders Forum (NEF), a group of religious leaders have expressed displeasure at the tone of the pastoral letter by the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishop Conference (ZCBC), saying it was provocative.
The ZCBC letter dated 14 August 2020, titled "The march is not ended" attacked President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his Government, claiming a false crisis in Zimbabwe.
In a meeting, held this week in Bulawayo with church leaders who represented Matebeleland region, the Elders said that the ZCBC letter was too confrontational with the potential to stimulate violence. They argued that the church should promote peace and encourage dialogue among political parties in the country.
Elders Forum representative, Bishop Felix Mukonowengwe, Roman Catholic Bulawayo Diocese representative, Archbishop Alex Kaliyanil, Zimbabwe Council of Churches representative, Bishop Lazarus Kanye and Ecumenical Church Leaders Forum representative, Bishop Ambrose Moyo were part of the meeting.
The Elders noted that the pastoral letter contained partisan undertones especially the support of the #ZimbabweanLivesMatter, which could have caused violence as was the case in the Rwandan Genocide.
Roman catholic Archbishop, Arthanase Seromba was the chief spiritual ideologist and violent practitioner of the 1994 Hutu-Tutsi Genocide in Rwanda.
The Elders commended a letter by the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) dated 16 August 2020, written in solidarity with the ZCBC, which they said was not as provocative and confrontational as the pastoral letter.
The Clergymen resolved that they would pursue dialogue with the national leadership rather than being confrontational, with Archbishop Kaliyanil pledging to organise a meeting between the Elders Forum and the Catholic Bishops from the region.
Some Roman Catholic Bishops and Priests have since distanced themselves from the pastoral letter and are in the process of signing a petition to the Vatican regarding that issue.
Several traditional churches have also condemned the pastoral letter, arguing that the church leaders should preach peace, love and offer counsel and advice to leaders.
Meanwhile, Bishop Moyo urged Government to be careful in dealing with the Mozambican crisis in Cabo Delgado. He said intervention might lead to the Islamic insurgents coming to Zimbabwe to retaliate and may recruit disgruntled youths and the opposition youths like the Democratic Resistance Committees (DRC,s) who had already received military training.
