The Archbishop of Bulawayo, who resigned last year amid accusations of an affair with one of his staff, has spoken publicly for the first time in more than a year, saying he wants to return to his native Zimbabwe, even if it costs him his life.Archbishop Pius Ncube was until last year the most consistent and fierce critic of President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party. He has been keeping a low profile at the request of the Vatican since the story of the affair broke, but he was sorely missed by many in the run-up to the country's now discredited recent elections.
Independent Catholic News (ICN) reported this week that the archbishop has been in England since last June and that he intends to return to Zimbabwe soon. ICN said that he celebrated Mass last Sunday at an undisclosed location in England and told parishioners that he had been here in order to "pray, study and rest", but he added: "a shepherd must be with his flock, even if it means death".
The congregation, which included a number of Zimbabwean refugees, burst into spontaneous applause at the news. Archbishop Ncube also said that during his stay in England he had only eaten one meal a day because "in Zimbabwe many eat only once every three days".
During his homily the archbishop focused on the theme of humility and the need for prayer, saying Jesus' humility was revealed in the picture of the Messiah entering Jerusalem on a donkey, and in his washing the feet of his disciples.
Archbishop Ncube urged people to spend time in prayer. "As Christians we are not materialistic, always chasing after riches, after position, after pleasure ... We do not belong to ourselves. We live for the Lord. That's why it is very important for each one of us to spend each day 10 minutes, 30 minutes every day or even more, talking with the Lord." He added: "God comes close to the vulnerable. People who cry - they live much longer then those who don't cry ... I'm not much of a crier. I wish I was. We must ask God for the gift of tears."
The archbishop appeared to have lost none of his clear-thinking criticism of Mugabe. He named him at the end of a rogues' gallery of "the proud who are destroying this world", mentioning those who crucified Jesus, then Hitler, Stalin, Mao Zedong, Pol Pot, before coming to Mugabe, who "got into power by hook and by crook - and this time we hear during the election he changed the results and went around beating up people, shooting some of them. And he has forbidden the NGOs to give food to those people who supported the opposition. That's pride."
He then praised Princess Diana, Gandhi and Nelson Mandela for their humility. "If we are humble we will bring a lot of blessings to our people ... If we are proud we will destroy."
The South African Council of Churches, which includes the country's Catholic bishops' conference, has urged the international community not to recognise the presidency of Robert Mugabe, because it regards the recent election as fraudulent.
The 26 member churches issued a statement this week saying that they want the Southern African Development Cooperation and the African Union (AU) to support the setting up of a transitional government incorporating the opposition and Mugabe's Zanu-PF party.
At the G8 meeting in Hokkaido, Japan, this week, the Prime Minister Gordon Brown handed photographs of the charred body of a member of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, Joshua Bakacheza, to G8 and African leaders.
Some leaders then called for sanctions to be imposed worldwide on Mugabe and 11 other government officials, leading to the freezing of all their overseas assets and a total ban on travelling abroad.
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