In company with Catholic Bishops' Conferences throughout the world, the Bishops of Ireland wish to express our deepest concern and dismay at the ever-worsening political and humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe.We wish to register our solidarity with the Bishops and the people of Zimbabwe in their struggle against the forces of oppression.
The Bishops of Zimbabwe have said: "The confrontation in our Country has now reached a flashpoint. As the suffering population becomes more insistent, generating more and more pressure through boycotts, strikes, demonstrations and uprisings, the State responds with ever-harsher oppression through arrests, detentions, banning orders, beatings and torture. In our judgement, the situation is extremely volatile". (God Hears the Cry of the Oppressed, Pastoral Letter of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference, 5 April 2007)
In the light of the current grave humanitarian and political crisis, the Bishops of Ireland:
* Call on the Zimbabwean government to address the crisis of governance and leadership as outlined in the bishops' pastoral letter of the 5 April, God Hears the Cry of the Oppressed.
* Call on the Zimbabwean government to provide urgently needed shelter and food for its population and to facilitate the efforts of aid agencies including those sponsored by the Churches, to provide humanitarian and development assistance to the dispossessed.
* Call on the Irish people to continue their support for aid agencies such as Trócaire in their work to alleviate the worst effects of the humanitarian crisis.
In issuing this statement, we are aware of the long history of friendship which unites Irish people with Zimbabweans, which is due in no small measure by the ongoing dedicated work of Irish missionaries in partnership with the people of Zimbabwe.
In this respect, we are conscious of the widespread regard for the memory of the late Irish Carmelite and former Bishop of Mutare, Donal Lamont, who was fearless in his stand for justice and civil rights and who did so much to advance the cause of independence in Zimbabwe.
We join with Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in his support for the Bishops of Zimbabwe in their call for prayer and a shared commitment for the common good as the only way forward for the suffering and oppressed people of Zimbabwe.
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