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PART I
A Pastoral Letter of ZCBC
To all Priests, Religious and Seminarians
Pentecost Sunday 24 May 2015

As shepherds of the flockwork closely to foster unity with your

Ours is a ministry of reconciliation. We proclaim the Good

priests striving to eliminate every form of dissension and self-

News of God's infinite love, mercy and compassion. We

interest. I encourage you to continue to seek out vocations to the

proclaim the joy of the Gospel. For the Gospel is the

priesthood: men who once formed with the wide hearts of the
shepherds and fathers will go out to find their peopleAccompany
your newly ordainedthat they may live wholesome and upright lives.
Exhort them to continue preaching and livingthe Gospel values of
truth and integrityand in selfless service of their neighbour, in
prophetic hope for justice in the land.
POPE FRANCIS

promise of God's grace, which alone can bring wholeness

and healing to our broken world. It can inspire the building
of a truly just and redeemed social order.
POPE FRANCIS

Introduction:
Often our pastoral letters have been addressed to all the Catholic faithful of
Zimbabwe. On this occasion, we your Bishops, desire to turn in a particular
way to our priests, religious and seminarians. We do so taking up the direct
request of the Holy Father to us during our 'Ad limina' visit' in June 2014.
Pope Francis said to us:

+Michael D. Bhasera, Bishop of Masvingo

(ZCBC President)
+Robert C. Ndlovu, Archbishop of Harare
(ZCBC Vice President)
+Alex Thomas, Archbishop of Bulawayo
(ZCBC Secretary/Treasurer)
+Alexio Churu Muchabaiwa, Bishop of Mutare
+Angel Floro, Bishop of Gokwe
+Dieter B. Scholz SJ, Bishop of Chinhoyi
+Albert Serrano, Bishop of Hwange
+Xavier J. Munyongani, Bishop of Gweru
+Patrick M. Mutume, Auxiliary Bishop of Mutare

As shepherds of the flockwork closely to foster unity with your priests

striving to eliminate every form of dissension and self-interest. I
encourage you to continue to seek out vocations to the priesthood: men
who once formed with the wide hearts of the shepherds and fathers will
go out to find their peopleAccompany your newly ordainedthat they
may live wholesome and upright lives. Exhort them to continue preaching
and livingthe Gospel values of truth and integrityand in selfless service
of their neighbour, in prophetic hope for
justice in the land.
Though the Holy Father mentions priests in particular, his words are equally
appropriate for religious and seminarians. Each one of us who have
answered the call of Jesus desires to reveal his tender love. We want to be
sources of unity rather than self interest, to live lives of integrity and truth.
We want to bring others to the experience of the joy of the Gospel, to a real
encounter with Jesus, the real prophetic voice of hope.
This present letter is the first of a series of three addressed to you our
priests, religious and seminarians. Each of these letters will be rooted in the
teaching of Pope Francis in his Apostolic Exhortation 'Evangelii Gaudium,'
and we will seek to highlight issues particular to those who are the principal
agents of pastoral work. These letters seek to encourage all of us in a new
outpouring of apostolic zeal, loyalty to our vocation and a spirit of generous
service. Speaking to the Curia just before Christmas 2014 the Holy Father
said.

Once I read that priests (religious) are like airplanes, they only make
news when they fall, but there are so many that are flying. Many criticize
and few pray for them.
We wish to acknowledge with gratitude the goodness and self-sacrifice that
can be found among many priests and religious. Therefore in mentioning
some of the 'difficult issues' that we come across as pastoral workers, we do
not fail firstly to give thanks for each of our priests, religious and seminarians
who in different ways reveal the heart of Jesus, the good shepherd, to the
people of our country. As you read and pray through these reflections let us
not forget to pray for one another so that together we may grow in our
vocation and be enthusiastic witnesses to others. As Pope Francis says: 'A
person who is not convinced, enthusiastic, certain and in love, will convince
nobody' (Evangelii Gaudium n.266).
Do you love me? (John 21: 15-20)
During his apostolic journey to the Philippines in January 2015, Pope Francis
spoke to the bishops, priests, religious and seminarians. He reflected on the
Gospel passage from John mentioned above, in which Jesus says to Simon
Peter: Do you love me? It is a passage we would do well to reflect on often.
The Holy Father said:

way we live our lives. The truth of the Gospel is not so much preached by the
eloquence of our homilies, but in the witness of our lives lived with integrity,
fidelity and holiness. We live with an undivided heart, because we live in and
from the heart of Jesus Christ the Good shepherd. We are ambassadors of
Christ not agents of any State. Thus daily we should pray with the words of
Psalm 86 verse 11: 'Teach me your way O Lord, that I may walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart to revere your name. Find time to reflect on your
own, perhaps in your deaneries and communities on the following
questions:

Reflection Questions:
Read Mark 1: 14-20. How did you hear the call to follow Jesus? Who, what
inspired your vocation?
The encounter with Jesus changed the life of the early disciples. What gives
energy to your faith commitment and how have you found ways to share your
faith with others?
We cannot live in the world and be unconcerned with what is happening. How
do you see the connection between faith and your life as a citizen of
Zimbabwe? What does Mk 12:13-17 try to teach us on this?

These words remind us of something essential. All pastoral ministry is born

of love! All consecrated life is a sign of Christ's reconciling love. Like Saint
Therese, in the variety of our vocations, each of us is called, in some way, to
be love in the heart of the Church.
He went on:
Ours is a ministry of reconciliation. We proclaim the Good News of God's
infinite love, mercy and compassion. We proclaim the joy of the Gospel.
For the Gospel is the promise of God's grace, which alone can bring
wholeness and healing to our broken world. It can inspire the building
of a truly just and redeemed social order.
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As bishops, priests, religious and seminarians, we are inspired and

motivated in our pastoral ministry not by political favour or argument but by
the teaching of Jesus, especially in the Beatitudes (Mt. 5:3-12). We hunger
and thirst for 'righteousness' not political or economic advantage. As
Christians we are of course members of a particular tribe, citizens of a
particular country. We pay our taxes, participate in public life, respect law
and order and protect the rights of those who are disadvantaged. Through
our deep faith in Christ and the social teachings of the Catholic Church we
respect the dignity of each person as a bearer of God's image and likeness.
We realise that our faith informs our choices and we can educate others
about respect and dignity. As bishops, priests, religious and seminarians we
can and should enter dialogue with local leaders but always we maintain our
independence and autonomy as representatives of Jesus Christ.
As bishops we clearly echo the sentiments of Pope Benedict: 'Without God
man neither knows which way to go, nor even understands who he is'
(Caritas in Veritate n.78). It is our duty to bring faith into the public domain
and as 'one of the spiritual lungs of humanity' (Africae Munus n.174) we
must engage in sincere and constructive dialogue with the State legislators.
We can best serve our country by being agents, shepherds, who not only
know 'the smell of the sheep' (Evangelii Gaudium n.24) but who know and
reflect the smell of the Shepherd. The prophet Jeremiah gave us a promise
from God that he would never leave his people without shepherds: I will
give you shepherds after my own heart. (Jer 3:15). Further on the Lord
through the prophet declared: I will set shepherds over them who will care
for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed (Jer 23:4).
We are to be shepherds who reveal the heart of Jesus Christ, which is a heart
of mercy, of reconciliation, peace and justice. We are agents of the Gospel of
Joy and so must guard against those outside forces that might try to
compromise our ministry and encourage us to become agents of a particular
political party or politician. If we have heard the call of Jesus Christ to follow
him and have committed ourselves to him through priesthood and religious
life then there can be no separation between the truth of the Gospel and the
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These words of Pope Francis, the Gospel passage from John mentioned
above and St Paul's teaching in 2Cor 5:14-20, in which the apostle reminds us
of our ministry of reconciliation, all provide a fitting context for the
reflections that we wish to share with you. If we are to genuinely witness to
love in the heart of the Church and world, and if we are truly to work to
create a 'just and redeemed social order' then we must seek to minister to
all God's people with an undivided heart.
As 'ambassadors of Christ' our pastoral work aims at promoting an
encounter with Jesus Christ (Evangelii Gaudium n.3). We desire to bring
people into a living experience of Jesus who saves, heals and brings hope.
Hence as Pope Francis said in the same homily in the Philippines:
The Gospel calls individual Christians to live lives of honesty, integrity
and concern for the common good. But it also calls Christian communities
to create circles of integrity, networks of solidarity which can expand to
embrace and transform society by their prophetic witness.
If this is true then it is essential that we ask ourselves, in the spirit of Africae
Munus where we are advised not to 'interfere in any way in the politics of the
states' (n.22), we must ask the crucial question: 'What is the relationship
between ourselves as people of faith and the society in which we live?' We
do indeed have 'a mission of truth to accomplish', as Pope Benedict says
(Africae Munus n.22). Faith does have a place in relation to the secular
world of politics, as recent Popes have highlighted, but especially clear was
the talk that Pope Benedict gave on his visit to the United Kingdom in 2010
where he spoke to Politicians, he said:
' I would like to suggest that the world of reason and the
world of faith the world of secular rationality and the world of religious
belief need one another and should not be afraid to enter into profound
and ongoing dialogue, for the good of civilisation.'

Christians are thus not enemies to our political legislators, we are not
problems to be solved, or silenced; rather we are partners, vital contributors
to national debate.
The Church within the World:
The Constitution of the Church in the Modern World of Vatican II (n.1) makes
it clear from the very beginning, that to be a Christian is to be deeply
concerned with the joys and sorrows, needs and aspirations of the men and
women with whom we live. Our Gospel is one of incarnation, the good news
become flesh in a given context. Faith, therefore, is not an isolated private
practice; it takes root in the world around us and challenges the values that
secular society often puts forward. As disciples of Jesus Christ the Church is
rightly to be seen as the 'conscience of the nation', it has a fundamental
ministry of upholding the inherent dignity and value of each human being. If
we are shepherds after the heart of Christ then we look on all men and
women, no matter who they are, with his eyes of compassion and mercy.
We are as Christians 'in' the world, but as Pope Francis warns us in Evangelii
Gaudium, we can very easily become too immersed in the world and find
ourselves drinking deep from secular philosophy which is counter to our
Christian faith. While being concerned about the economic and political
debates within our country, and the world at large, we need as bishops,
priests and religious to guard against becoming too actively involved in
associating our personal political views with a certain interpretation of the
gospel, with a particular political party. It is for this reason that we cannot
mix political responsibility, taking on of public office, with pastoral care, our
first loyalty is to the Church and her teaching. The Code of Cannon law is very
clear on this point:
Clerics are forbidden to assume public office which entails
participation in the exercise of civil power. (Canon 285)
Clerics are not to have an active role in political parties and
in the direction of labour unions.(Canon 287)
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Why is this so? Because as ambassadors of Christ, as those who have a heart
that is formed after the 'Good Shepherd', we are to work for the common
good of all our people, something we stressed in our pastoral letter
Working Together for the Common Good (ZCBC August 2014).
As Jesus outlines in the teaching given in John 10, the sheep that belong to
him 'listen to his voice', we must be clear that the voice of the shepherd that
we present to people is a voice of unity, a voice that desires to bring people
together as members of the one body of Christ. Of course we must stand by
the poor, the disadvantaged, the unemployed, the voiceless and the
homeless etc. Of course we will have our own particular political opinions,
but we must guard against becoming partisan or else we will cease to be
agents of real reconciliation, justice and peace. We could fall into the trap of
becoming agents of a secular ideology
It was with this in mind that the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy wrote in
1982 that it was irreconcilable with the clerical state to get involved in
politics and to seek public office. Indeed we have seen that on those
occasions where bishops, religious or priests have sought public office
without the necessary canonical dispensation they have been suspended
from their priestly ministry. We do indeed have a mandate from Jesus to 'Go
into the whole world' and as Pope Francis notes in Evangelii Gaudium (n176258) 'All Christians, their pastors included, are called to show concern for the
building of a better world.' But the guiding principle of all our pastoral or
political activity is found in Matthew 25: 31-46; what we do to the very least
of our brothers and sisters we do unto Christ.
As ambassadors of Christ, as those who seek to manifest the heart of the
Good Shepherd, we know all too well that:
'Changing structures without generating new convictions and
attitudes will only ensure that those same structures will become, sooner
or later, corrupt, oppressive and ineffectual.'
(Evangelii Gaudium n.189)
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