Zimbabwe: Bishops appeal for peace in Advent Pastoral Letter

Image: Fides

Source: Fides

In their Pastoral Letter for Advent, the Catholic Bishops of Zimbabwe have expressed concern about the constant threat to peace in the country in the wake of the elections of 23 August.

The European Union Election Observation Mission (EuEom) in Zimbabwe stated in their 17 November report that "the process as a whole limited fundamental rights and lacked a level playing field, which was exacerbated by intimidation. In the post-election period, the EU EOM observed a climate of retaliation."

The Bishops full Pastoral Letter, published on 21 November, follows:

The Coming of Christ; "The Prince of Peace"

"For the child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on his shoulders; And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace."(Isaiah 9:6).

1. Dear Brothers and Sisters, Men and Women of good will, as the Church begins the Season of Advent, we your shepherds and fellow citizens would like to exhort and reflect with you on this Holy season. Advent is in many ways a season of contradictions. In terms of the Church calendar we are at the beginning of the new Church year and yet civilly we are in the last month of the calendar. Socially, the season is lived in the frenzy of shopping getting ourselves ready for Christmas. Spiritually, we are preparing for the coming of Christ. We remember the Lord's promise that he will come at the end of time. We also remember that Christ once came and inhabited our common home: mother earth. That was when he was born in Bethlehem of Judea.

2. Christ's first coming was heralded by the prophets who called him the "Prince of Peace." At his birth the angels sang "Glory to God in the highest and peace to people of good will. Though Advent presents us with many themes for reflection, the theme of peace seems to be the most imposing one. Globally, we are in a world that has seen a prolonged war between Russia and Ukraine. As if that was not enough, we now have another war in Israel and Palestine. Our own continent is not exempt. In its different regions we have pockets of violence that have seen many people living as the internally displaced or refugees.

3. As a nation our peace is constantly under threat. Not that there is a war threat, far from that, but we are seeing new threats to people's calm and tranquility, which is what the Hebrew word for peace, "Shalom" entails. There is a high level of crime in many communities. We have seen the upsurge of armed robberies. Gender-based violence in families is on the rise. Politically, we seem to be perpetually in the election mood, a reality that in this country, sends a shudder down the spine. For our elections are characterized by violence.

4. Before and during the elections we made a plea for peace. We emphasized the dignity of the human person, the importance of tolerance, co-existence and suggested the politics of persuasion. We would like to express our gratitude to all citizens who did heed the message of peace. The past election was indeed different. It was not characterized by violence. That should be applauded. Though this is not to say there was no violence. We had hoped that as a nation we had seen the light and we were beginning to appreciate each other as citizens with divergent views and people of different persuasions, men and women who can rise above their differences. Sadly, as reported by the different election observers, our elections left a lot to be desired. They were characterized by a new form of violence: refusal to let the nation's voices be heard through the ballot. That act of robbing people of their voices is a form of violence that should be condemned by all people of integrity, by all loving and peaceful citizens.

5. In the post-election period most of the gains that we had made; the promotion of peace, diffusing the tensions between various political players and their supporters were lost. There were retributions targeting those who were perceived to have voted wrongly, whatever that means! With the recent political recalls of the elected members of parliament, senators and councilors, the nation has been thrust into a new form of violence: people rightfully elected, can wantonly be recalled. It would seem the voices of the people who voted can easily be ignored. as if they were insignificant. Were those elected not given the mandate by the people? What happens when the people's voices are silenced by the masters of political expediency? One thing for certain is that people feel they are not respected and listened to. This breeds tensions and many who have no ways of diffusing them bottle them up. This is not healthy for people and the society. If it is true that. 'an injury to one of us is an injury to all of us; then we are all living in a wounded Society.

6. What is worse is what these recalls have unearthed. Apart from holding all of us in the dreaded perpetual election mode. they have given birth to violence. Even those who, for a short while, had shunned violence. have fallen back on their default position of violent campaigns. People are being abducted, brutalized and left for dead. Recently, a life was lost because of politics What is the objective of this violence? Is it to terrorize people into voting for a particular candidate or not to vote at all? We would like to reiterate what we said before the August elections when we directed our plea to the citizens "…Refuse to be used in violent attacks against your fellow brothers and sisters. Any party or politician that incites violence or persuades you to loin in violent attacks, is not worthy of your vote. Give your vote to those who deserve it' To the politicians we said," .. Peace begins with each one of us. In your roles, be ambassadors of peace. Let no blood be shed in your name and for your vote. Remember, "The bloodshed in the land cries out to God (Gen. 4: 10).

7. Together as we prepare to welcome Christ at Christmas, let us remember that when the "Prince of Peace.- and that He is our Peace. The peace of Christ finds abode. In those who are calm and enjoy tranquility, it also embraces what the ancient Greeks said peace entails- unity and accord. Calm and tranquility, unity and accord are not far from our reach, we can achieve these if once again we recognise the dignity of the human person, something that Christ upheld by choosing to be born In human form and being in solidarity with us which is what his coming as "The Prince of Peace," entails: 'He identifies with us in all things but sin' (Hebrews 4:15).

8. This Advent we once again appeal to our political leaders to denounce politically motivated violence. To the law enforcement agents, bring perpetrators of political violence to book. To the legislators, revisit the enacted laws that can easily be manipulated at the expense of the people's basic rights and freedoms. It Is in the same vein that we would like to remind everyone that we all have a duty to work for the promotion of peace and to be agents of peace. We all need peace. Lack of peace has a negative effect on our country. Economically, it works against all our ideals of a middle Income economy and the realization of vision 2030. Socially, it breeds animosity and creates a divided nation. Spiritually, it robs us of our identity as the sons and daughters of God for, 'Blessed are the peacemakers, because they will be called the sons of God' (Matthew 5:9).

9. In this reflection we would like to exhort all peace loving Zimbabweans to pray for peace particularly in our land and everywhere in solidarity with other people in other parts of the world which are troubled Let us work to foster peace, the greatest good that facilitates the development of nations and the progress of people. May the Lord look with a kindly countenance on our efforts to promote and build peace. We pray for all those whose mandate In the land is to safeguard the rights of our people that they may never tire in working for the creation of peaceful environments. May Christ, 'the Prince of Peace' who Is our Peace come and transform our attitudes and make all of us instruments of his peace.

We wish you a blessed Advent season and the peace of Christmas.

Prayer

"The Lord bless you and keep you;

The Lord make His face shine upon you

and be gracious to you;

the Lord turn his face towards you give you His peace'

Amen. (Numbers 6: 24 26).