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Prosper Ndlovu Deputy News Editor
POPE Francis yesterday said there was light at the end of the tunnel as God was aware of the challenges facing Zimbabweans and would no doubt answer their prayers.Francis, who met bishops from Zimbabwe who are in Rome on their ad limina visit, a pilgrimage to the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul, urged the bishops to guide the church and the nation towards unity and healing.
“While Zimbabweans’ faithfulness is already a balm on some of these national wounds, I know that many people have reached their human limit,” said the Pope in a speech published on the Vatican Radio website.
“In the midst of all this, I ask you to encourage the faithful never to lose sight of the ways in which God is hearing their supplications and answering their prayers, for, as you have written, he cannot fail to hear the cry of the poor.
“I urge you to guide everyone with great tenderness towards unity and healing.”
The Pope said the church in Zimbabwe has always identified itself with the ordinary poor before and after independence and expressed concern over scores of people who have left the country to the Diaspora due to economic challenges.
He made reference to the suffering that many went through at the height of economic challenges around 2007.
Said the Pope: “There you showed how the crisis is both spiritual and moral, stretching from colonial times through the present moment.”
Catholic priests are required to visit the Vatican and meet the Pope at least every five years.
Francis paid tribute to the church in Zimbabwe and commended its faithfulness to Catholic beliefs.
“We can give praise to God for the authentic witness to the death and resurrection of Jesus given by the Church in Zimbabwe, which flourished early in the Christian history of Southern Africa,” he said, recalling the history of the church in the country.
“Your predecessors in the episcopate, joined with their priests, religious and lay coworkers — many of them missionaries from faraway countries — spent their lives so that the faith might take root and flourish in your land.”
The Pope chronicled how Catholic mission stations in Zimbabwe blossomed into indigenous parishes and dioceses.
He advised the bishops to “show particular concern for the preparation and clear guidance of young Catholics desiring Christian marriage” and “opening up to them the richness of the Church’s moral teachings on life and love, thus enabling them to find true happiness in freedom as mothers and fathers.”
Francis urged the church to preach the gospel of Christ fearlessly and proclaim his message of hope in this generation by tirelessly preaching forgiveness and the mercy of God.
“Keep encouraging the faithful to renew their personal encounter with the Risen Lord… As shepherds of the flock ever docile to the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 20:28), work closely to foster unity with your priests, striving to eliminate every form of dissension and self-interest,” said the Pope.
Across Zimbabwe, the Roman Catholic Church has set up numerous schools in which many political leaders including President Mugabe were educated.
The church has also set up hospitals that have taken care of the infirm for many decades, offering physical and psychological healing.
derick.khumalo