Mugabe leaves door open for churches

Recent comments by President Robert Mugabe had opened the door for the church to constructively engage government on democracy and governance issues, the general-secretary of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) told IRIN. The official Herald newspaper reported on Tuesday that Mugabe had urged the clergy to seek dialogue with the government if they had any grievances they felt needed to be addressed. "Let's continue working together, the state and the church. If there are any problems, come forward and we [can] discuss them," Mugabe was quoted as saying at the memorial service for the late Archbishop Patrick Chakaipa. Mugabe also said some sections of the clergy were campaigning against the government internationally. ZCC general-secretary Densen Mafinyani told IRIN on Tuesday that Mugabe's statement should be viewed as an opening for churches in Zimbabwe. "If we can help good governance to be there, that can be a positive contribution," he said. "He [Mugabe] said churches have moral authority and we invite you to come sit with us and highlight and identify where we are making mistakes and bring some alternatives of how we can do it differently. The churches are saying that if that is the case, if the doors are opening like that then surely the onus is on us to say, 'your excellence, we need to discuss with you x,y, and z ...' I think on that basis we need to seize the opportunity, because he [Mugabe] has opened the door," Mafinyani added. The ZCC has in the past said "it has a duty to speak out against oppression and injustice" and in 2001 issued a statement urging "the president to put an end to the recent violence" as political tensions increased. Dialogue was critical to finding a solution to the current political intolerance in Zimbabwe, Mafinyani said.