Prophecy, politics and power : changing relations between the Catholic Church and the Zimbabwean State (1980-2007)

Abstract

The article investigates the role played by the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe since independence in 1980. Of particular interest is the way in which the Catholic Church has exercised her prophetic office within the changing social, political and economic environment since independence. Although there are many ways of approaching the subject, I have decided to interrogate the role of the Church in the past 27 years on the basis of bishops’ pastoral letters. Firstly, they are ready resources available for any study of the Catholic because they are published for public consumption. Secondly, they are themselves a product not only of the theological reflections of the bishops but of wide consultation that takes place prior to their publication. In this sense, they genuinely represent the thinking and position of the Catholic Church on issues discussed in the article. In the article I focus only on three issues: church and state relations; reconciliation; and governance. My conclusion is that the prophetic voice of the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe was compromised by its proximity to state power in the first years of independence. However, as the state became more and more distanced from the people and began to politicise every aspect of life, the bishops finally managed to recover their prophetic voice, and have since 2000 come out 1 This paper was originally presented as an inaugural lecture at the occasion of the presenter’s elevation to Professor of Church History at the University of South Africa on 28 August 2007. It was also presented in a modified form at St Augustine College of South Africa on 13 March 2008. openly in defence of the oppressed and marginalised citizens.