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ZIMBABWE CATHOLIC BISHOPS CONFERENCE Pastoral Letter on A Proposed National Agenda or Restoration and Pea!e in Zi"#a#$e Follo$ing t%e &'l( )*+, National Ele!tions , -e!e"#er )*+, Introd'!tion In our Pastoral Letter published in March 2013 before the 31 July 2013 national elections, we called upon all Christians and people of goodwill in i!babwe to co!!it the!sel"es to #pro!oting peace in i!babwe and o"erco!e the culture of intolerance, inti!idation and political "iolence$% &oon after the election results were announced, we congratulated all i!babweans for conducting a generally and relati"ely peaceful poll$ 'e write this Pastoral Letter three !onths after the national elections were conducted, when the dust fro! those elections has settled down so!ewhat$ (ro! where we stand as shepherds in )od*s "ineyard, we are co!pelled to obser"e that the elections ha"e left i!babweans !ore polari+ed than they were before and during the years of the Inclusi"e )o"ern!ent ,200- . 2013/$ 0he political fault lines and their i!pact on all aspects of the li"es of i!babweans are set not only to deepen, but also to stand in the way of progress and ulti!ately in the way of peace$ 'e note with apprehension that three !onths after the dust fro! the elections began to settle down, there are no "isible prospects for i!pro"e!ent in the spheres of life in i!babwe that cry for restoration to gi"e people hope for a better life$ 0hese spheres include1 1$ (ull re2engage!ent with the international co!!unity 2$ 3estoration of the national econo!y, particularly the !anufacturing sector 3$ 3estoration of the public ser"ices sector which includes health, education, water, sanitation, transport and energy 4$ 3estoration of i!babwe*s historical status as the bread bas5et of the &outhern 6frica region with guaranteed food security for her people 0he need to create "iable platfor!s to address effecti"ely the areas outlined abo"e for the benefit of our people and country cannot be o"ere!phasi+ed$ 7ur industrial sites carry the appearance of ghost towns because the once2"ibrant !anufacturing sector is now largely !oribund$ 0he dignity of our people has been se"erely eroded as they ha"e beco!e reduced to sellers of cheap goods and products at street corners in our cities in order to sur"i"e$
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8aily water and power cuts, shortage of !edicines, e9uip!ent and professional personnel in our hospitals, chaos and carnage on our roads, raw sewage flowing in the streets of our towns and cities . the list of what reduces us as a people, our dignity and our hope for a better life is long$ 6nd yet, it need not be li5e this$ i!babwe is blessed with abundant natural resources and resilient, )od2fearing and highly s5illed people$ 0his abundance in resources, !aterial and hu!an, gi"es us encourage!ent and hope that i!babweans can transfor! this unsatisfactory situation and in its place create a better life for all i!babweans$ 'hat it ta5es to reali+e these aspirations of our people and country is political will at all le"els of our society and institutions to wor5 towards the achie"e!ent of the co!!on good, political will to transcend differences in order for all i!babweans to wor5 together as one fa!ily, all leading to sustainable peace in our nation$ Agenda or restoration and S'staina#le Pea!e In the 8iscussion 8ocu!ent, T%e Zi"#a#$e We Want ,200:/, the i!babwe Catholic ;ishops* Conference , C;C/, the <"angelical (ellowship of i!babwe ,<( / and the i!babwe Council of Churches , CC/ all spo5e as one "oice of the Church in i!babwe on, a!ong other issues, the restoration of i!babwe*s econo!y and wellbeing as follows1 As a Church we commit ourselves to utilize our global Church network throughout the world, particularly those related to our development partners to lobby their governments and other institutions to support Zimbabwe in the reconstruction efforts through the cancellation of our international debt and making generous grants towards the reconstruction of our economy. This will only be possible if as Zimbabweans we can speak with one voice, hence this initiative by the Church to bring about reconciliation and unite our nation. T%e Zi"#a#$e We Want ,=$4$>, p$2-/ 0his, we argued, would help build bridges with the international co!!unity and help in the reconstruction of our econo!y and the well being of our people$ 'e belie"e this call for i!babweans to spea5 with one "oice as the first step towards the restoration of i!babwe is as true today as it was se"en years ago when the Church in i!babwe !ade this call$ i!babweans, and that includes the politicians and political parties a!ong us, !ust transcend their differences and wor5 together for the co!!on good of our country$ 6lthough the political e?peri!ent that was the inclusi"e go"ern!ent ,200- . 2013/ has been criticised in so!e 9uarters, it would be hard to deny that so!e "isible progress was !ade to i!pro"e the lot of our people, particularly the lot of the poor in our society who were !a5ing
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fre9uent and regular "isits to neighbouring countries to buy basics for sur"i"al as shops in our country were e!pty$ 'hat !ade this i!pro"e!ent possible was the fact that i!babweans, including the political parties, wor5ed together for the co!!on good$ 'e belie"e that the shortco!ings that attended this political e?peri!ent e!anated fro! the fact that it was structured solely on political parties which began to co!pete for political ad"antage gi"en the fact that the life of the inclusi"e go"ern!ent was understood fro! the beginning to be a te!porary !arriage of con"enience foisted on the political parties by our neighbours in the &outhern 6frica 8e"elop!ent Co!!unity ,&68C/ following the disputed elections of 200@$ 0hat political e?peri!ent also de!onstrated that the winner2ta5e2all political arrange!ent will not benefit i!babwe and her people at this stage of our political de"elop!ent$ Aeither the )o"ern!ent, the 7pposition nor any one of us alone can achie"e the restoration that our country and people so sorely need$ In his !essage, Blessed are t%e Pea!e"a.ers ,January, 2013/, Pope ;enedict BCI urged that we all beco!e true peace!a5ers$ #0rue peace!a5ers,% he said, #are those who lo"e, defend and pro!ote hu!an life in all its di!ensions, personal, co!!unitarian and transcendent$ Life in its fullness is the height of peace$% Pope ;enedict BCI proceeds to outline what we belie"e is the !essage i!babwe needs !ost fro! this !o!ent on1 !n order to emerge from the present financial and economic crisis " which has engendered ever greater ine#ualities " we need people, groups, and institutions which will promote life by fostering human creativity, in order to draw from the crisis itself an opportunity for discernment and for a new economic model. The predominant model of recent decades called for seeking ma$imum profit and consumption, on the basis of an individualistic and selfish mindset, aimed at considering individuals solely in terms of their ability to meet the demands of competitiveness. %et, from another standpoint, true and lasting success is attained through the gift of ourselves, our intellectual abilities and our entrepreneurial skills, since a &liveable' or truly human economic development re#uires the principle of gratuitousness as an e$pression of fraternity and the logic of gift. Concretely, in economic activity, peacemakers are those who establish bonds of fairness with their colleagues, workers, clients and consumers. They engage in economic activity for the sake of the common good and they e$perience this commitment as something transcending self(interest, for the benefit of present and future generations. Thus they work not only for themselves, but also to ensure for others a future and a dignified employment. ,Pope ;enedict BCI, Blessed are t%e Pea!e"a.ers/ Pope ;enedict BCI calls for a #new econo!ic !odel% in which indi"iduals and institutions are inspired by #the principle of gratuitousness, of fraternity% to gi"e #of the!sel"es, their intellectual abilities and their entrepreneurial s5ills,% their #creati"ity,% to help their countries, co!!unities to #e!erge fro! the current financial and econo!ic crisis$% Jesus said1 #I ca!e that they !ay ha"e life, and ha"e li"e abundantly% ,John 10110/$ 0he Conte!porary <nglish Cersion calls it #life to the fullest$%
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'e in i!babwe can ha"e #life to the fullest% if we heed the words of Pope ;enedict BCI as inspired by the 6postle John and put in place #a new econo!ic !odel% across all sectors of our econo!y, an econo!ic !odel that is inclusi"e, that draws fro! the abundant pool of e?pertise that we are blessed with a!ong our people and that transcends political and any other boundaries$ 'e ha"e e?perts in all the areas of greatest need in our econo!y1 (ull re2engage!ent with the international co!!unity Aational econo!ic transfor!ation ,land, agriculture, !anufacturing, !ining, touris!, etc/ &ocial &er"ices ,health, water, sanitation, transport, energy, housing, education, food security, national reconciliation, etc/ 'e urge that tas5 tea!s of e?perts, who, according to Pope ;enedict BCI, will use their #hu!an creati"ity,% be set up to address each of these areas$ 6 charter to guide the appoint!ent and wor5ing !odalities of the tas5 tea!s should be drawn up and agreed with, a!ong others, pro"isions that the best 9ualified e?perts be in"ited to ser"e on these tas5 tea!s irrespecti"e of their political, religious or any other persuasion and that they re!ain apoliticalDnon2partisan$ 0his is the 6genda for i!babwe*s restoration that we urge the )o"ern!ent, the 7pposition and all of us as i!babweans to e!brace$ 6s we stated abo"e, neither the )o"ern!ent, the 7pposition nor any one of us can, alone, achie"e i!babwe*s restoration and wellbeing of our people$ 0his is the #!utual collaboration% that Pope John BBIII calls us to e!brace in )acem in Terris ,Peace on <arth, <ncyclical on <stablishing Eni"ersal Peace in 0ruth, Justice and Liberty of 11 6pril 1-:3/, in which each indi"idual will !a5e #a wholehearted contribution$% 'e ne"ertheless present this only as a proposal cognisant of the fact that #)acem in Terris did not intend to state that it is the tas5 of the Church to gi"e concrete pointers on subFects that, in their co!ple?ity, !ust be left to free discussion$ 7n political, econo!ic and social !atters it is not for dog!a to indicate the practical solutions, but rather for dialogue, listening, patience, respect for the other, sincerity and also willingness to rethin5 one*s own opinion% ,Pope (rancis, <AI0, 6rticle 3@2@=D7ctober 2013/$ It is appropriate and opportune that we !a5e this call for a new econo!ic !odel for i!babwe and i!babweans in the year that the Church has designated the Gear of (aith because we belie"e that if we all pray to the Lord for con"ersion and belief in our hearts and obser"e the principles of fraternity and gratuitousness enFoined upon us by Pope ;enedict BCI, the new !odel can wor5 and the Lord will, as he pro!ised, heal our land$ 6s we said at the beginning of this Pastoral Letter, we are writing three !onths after the national elections were conducted, when the dust fro! those elections has settled down so!ewhat but unfortunately new dust is rising$ 'e pray that the season of 6d"ent and Christ!as, the co!ing of our Lord Jesus Christ as one of us, !ay help us address all areas of our greatest need$
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M<33G CH3I&0M6& 07 G7E 6LL 6A8 H6PPG 2014$

/Angel Floro0 Bis%op o 1o.$e /Ro#ert C4 Ndlo5'0 Ar!%#is%op o Harare /Ale6 T%o"as0 Ar!%#is%op o B'la$a(o

2ZCBC President3

2ZCBC Se!retar(7Treas'rer3

/Ale6io C%'r' M'!%a#ai$a0 Bis%op o M'tare 2ZCBC 8i!e President3 /Mi!%ael -4 B%asera0 Bis%op o Mas5ingo /-ieter B4 S!%ol9 S&0 Bis%op o C%in%o(i /Al#ert Serrano0 Bis%op o H$ange /:a5ier &4 M'n(ongani0 Bis%op o 1$er' /Patri!. M4 M't'"e0 A'6iliar( Bis%op o M'tare