World Council of Churches rallies behind vilified Catholic priests

THE World Council of Churches (WCC) has rallied behind local church leaders being vilified by government for pointing out its heavy handedness on civilians.

The WCC urged the clerics to "unite and stand together in such difficult times".

In a statement on Thursday, WCC interim general secretary Ioan Sauca said the global church body was deeply worried with developments in Zimbabwe, particularly the gross human rights violations by State security agents and government's denial that the country was in a crisis.

"We are deeply aware of the difficult situation the church is passing through in Zimbabwe and we call on the church of God to unite and stand together in such difficult times," Sauca wrote.

Recently, the clergy, civic groups and other stakeholders resolved to engage government and other stakeholders in coming up with a national settlement framework to resolve the country's multi-faceted crisis.

Zimbabwe Council of Churches secretary-general Kenneth Mtata said his organisation had also raised similar concerns at its eighth biennial conference last month.
"What is left now is to accompany the churches to implement it," he said.

Last December, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa met the WCC general secretary Olav FykseTveit and Mtata where he pledged his government support to a church-led initiative to resolve Zimbabwe's festering problems.

Ramaphosa late last month sent his envoys to Harare to understand the gravity of the crisis and pledged to dispatch another team soon to meet all key stakeholders in the country to hammer out a long-lasting solution to problems bedevilling the southern African country.