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'I resigned to protect church'
11/09/2007 14:56 - (SA)
Harare - Zimbabwean Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube, an outspoken critic of President Robert Mugabe, resigned on Tuesday, two months after being sued for adultery in a case which he called a vicious government-backed attack.
The 60-year-old cleric, head of the southern Bulawayo archdiocese since 1997, said in a statement he was resigning to protect the Church, but would defend himself against the adultery charges in court.
Ncube said: "I wrote to the Pope within days of what was obviously a state-driven, vicious attack not just on myself, but by proxy on the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe."
The Vatican said in a one-sentence statement that Pope Benedict had accepted Ncube's resignation under an article of Church law, which covered clergy who could no longer perform their duties for health reasons.
Ncube 'vows to remain vocal against Mugabe'
It had also sometimes been used in cases of clerics who brought their office into disrepute. In July, Zimbabwe's state-run media published what it said were photos of Ncube in bed with a woman.
The cleric had accused Mugabe and his government of human rights abuses and suppressing political dissent. In his statement, Ncube vowed he would remain vocal against Mugabe and hinted he might go into politics.
Ncube said: "In order to spare my fellow bishops and the body of the church any further attacks, I decided this (resignation) was the best course of action."
He added that he would face his accusers in court as an individual.
Zimbabwe's state-owned Herald and Chronicle newspapers ran photos of the archbishop under the headlines "Pius Ncube Shamed" and "Pius in Sex Scandal".
Ncube's supporters said the report was part of a government smear campaign prompted by the archbishop's anti-Mugabe stance.
Ncube said although many would be bitterly disappointed that he had resigned, a few would be delighted by what they would see as an accomplished mission.
Ncube 'must join politics'
He said: "But, I have not been silenced by the crude machinations of a wicked regime. I am committed to promoting the social teachings of the Church.
"I will use my experiences working among the people to lobby for greater humanitarian support, in particular food and medical supplies at this time of extreme national crisis.
"I will continue to speak out on the issues that sadly become more acute by the day."
Ncube, who had been taunted by Mugabe to leave the church and join politics, said he would decide on his future in the next few weeks.
He said: "I have various options available at the moment and will decide ... which will provide the best platform to continue with God's work."
There was no immediate reaction from Mugabe's government.
In March, Ncube said he was ready to face bullets in anti-government protests to help bring democratic change in the southern African nation, which was mired in a deep economic and political crisis.
- Reuters
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Zimbabwe Special Report
