Aid to the Church in Need: Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe - hunting down priests

Posted by ACN News on 26/5/2008, 1:01 pm
Message modified by board administrator 7/8/2008, 1:29 pm

ACN News: Monday, 26th May 2008 – ZIMBABWE

Zimbabwe - hunting down priests
By John Newton and Eva-Maria Kolmann

MANY Catholic priests are hiding for fear of their lives, because they are being hunted down by soldiers in Zimbabwe – a leading Catholic charity was told this week.

A priest, who must remain anonymous to protect his safety, informed Aid to the Church in Need of serious and ongoing human rights abuses following March’s elections in Zimbabwe.

He told ACN how people who voted against Robert Mugabe’s party ZANU PF have been kidnapped, tortured, maimed and raped by soldiers – particularly in rural areas.

“Many Catholic priests and lay people are on the wanted lists of these soldiers and militia groups”, he said, “and many of them are forced to remain in hiding following death threats.”

Reprisals come after the Catholic Church joined with other denominations on 8th May to speak out about the country’s deteriorating human rights situation, including the “organised violence” in areas that did not vote for ZANU PF.

Following the message in which the priest called on all Catholics around the world to pray for the people of Zimbabwe, ACN called for solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe and for increased aid, especially for the local Church, which is supporting democracy.

ACN recently paid out an emergency grant of $30,000 for Zimbabwe, and is set to contribute more than $250,000 in aid over the course of 2008.

The priest particularly asked prayers for those “who are persecuting us, because we have exercised our democratic rights”

“Overwhelmed” with the victims of the political violence, hospitals lack even basic painkillers to treat the injured and maimed.

For several months they have been unable to care properly for patients because of a shortage of medicines caused the country’s economic crisis.

Speaking to ACN, the priest described how many streets are full of people living rough, because their houses have been looted and burned down after they voted for Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

Although living on the streets they still face the threat of further reprisals.

“It is to be feared”, he said, “that the situation will only get still worse ahead of the run-off vote on 27th June.”

Food is being withheld from those who did not vote for ZANU PF, the priest told ACN, and despite their best efforts Catholic dioceses are unable obtain any food for the hungry.

Inflation is running at more than 160,000 percent, and food has been in short supply for several months. Last October MDC spokesman, Nelson Chamisa, said “bread is as scarce than gold”.

Attacks on civilians have been taking place since it emerged that Morgan Tsvangirai (MDC) had beaten Robert Mugabe (ZANU PF) in the 29th March presidential elections.

The results gave Tsvangirai 47.9 percent of the vote and Mugabe 43.2 percent, so although the MDC won, it failed to win the majority necessary to avoid a run-off election.

At least five election officials were arrested last month for undercounting votes cast for Robert Mugabe.

While the government has launched an investigation into the violence, MDC said it was a “sham investigation” to deflect international attention from brutality by ZANU PF’s supporters.

Morgan Tsvangirai delayed returning from South Africa to begin campaigning for the June 27th run-off because of claims of a plot to assassinate him.

A report on post-election violence by Christian human-rights organisation the Solidarity Peace Trust, published in Johannesburg on May 21st, contained up to fifty eye-witness accounts of orchestrated beatings, torture and the destruction of homes and shops.

Editor’s Notes:

Directly under the Holy See, Aid to the Church in Need supports the faithful wherever they are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need. ACN is a Catholic charity – helping to bring Christ to the world through prayer, information and action.

Founded in 1947 by Fr Werenfried van Straaten, whom Pope John Paul II named “An Outstanding Apostle of Charity”, the organisation is now at work in about 145 countries throughout the world.

The charity undertakes thousands of projects every year including providing transport for clergy and lay Church workers, construction of church buildings, funding for priests and nuns and help to train seminarians. Since the initiative’s launch in 1979, 45 million Aid to the Church in Need Child’s Bibles have been distributed worldwide.

For more information please contact the Sydney office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148. Web: www.aidtochurch.org

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