Zimbabwe: Bishop Rechter SJ has died

Bishop Helmut Reckter, who was appointed in 1986 as the first bishop of the new Chinhoyi Diocese when it was split from Harare, died last Wednesday, after a nine-year battle with a heart ailment. He was 70 years old. Bishop Reckter is the third Zimbabwean Catholic bishop to die in the past 12 months. He was ordained priest in Dublin, Ireland, in 1964. Bishop Francis Xavier Muga-dzi of Gweru died in February and Archbishop Patrick Cha-kaipa of Harare died in April 2003. The Vatican is yet to appoint successors for the first two, and now only five of Zimbabwe's eight dioceses have a bishop. In his condolence message, President Robert Mugabe said he learnt of Bishop Reckter's death with great sadness and sorrow. "Bishop Reckter's commitment to the people was tested during our struggle for liberation when he consistently sought ways of achieving peace and freedom for the oppressed," he said. Source: CISA