Posted on May 14, 2008

Issued by Fr Chris Townsend, Information Officer of the SACBC, on behalf of Archbishop Buti Tlhagale OMI, President of the SACBC. Pretoria – May 13, 2008

 'A run-off election in Zimbabwe will not be possible without an immediate end to intimidation, violence and torture and the deployment of reliable international election observers.'

Out of concern for the people of Zimbabwe, the Bishops of the Catholic Church in Southern Africa appeals for international and regional pressure to end the systematic intimidation, violence and torture in Zimbabwe. The current environment is not conducive to free and fair run-off elections.

Cardinal Wilfred Napier, Archbishop of Durban, and I visited Zimbabwe recently and were told first-hand accounts of systematic intimidation, violence and torture. The victims identified the perpetrators as agents of the Zimbabwe Armed Forces, the Police, the Central Intelligence Organization (C.I.O), War Veterans, Youth Militia and plain thugs.

These human rights abuses are visited not only on those who are thought to have voted for the opposition, but also on those who assisted the Election Process, such as Polling Officers.

This 'reign of terror' has seen many deaths, savage beatings and flight from family, homes and communities. Human dignity is intrinsic to every human being, regardless of political affiliation and must be respected. I call on all political parties to reign in their supporters and end this horror.

I question whether a 'free and fair' run-off election is possible unless there is a will to stop this violence. International Election Observers should be deployed immediately to assess both the remote and immediate preparation for the run-off election.

I call on all Zimbabweans to remember the hope with which they entered the March elections so well expressed in the call by civil society in the document 'The Zimbabwe we want' and to do all in their power to restore Zimbabwe to its rightful place in the family of Nations.

Archbishop Buti Tlhagale OMI,

Archbishop of Johannesburg.
President of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC).

Statement by SACBC on Zimbabwe
(Issued by Fr. Chris Townsend, media officer, SACBC, 10th April 2008)
The deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe calls for credible mediation.
The situation in Zimbabwe is of regional, continental and international concern. As President of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference and on behalf of the Catholic Community in Southern Africa, I call on the leaders of the Southern African Development Community and the African Union to act swiftly to diffuse this tension by mandating a mediator of sufficient international repute, such as Kofi Annan, to ensure a solution that is acceptable to all Zimbabweans.
I urge President Mbeki, the leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and African Union leaders to use all of their influence and skill to intervene for the release of the Zimbabwean election results.
The apparent impunity and lack of respect for the democratic process that has allowed this delay is a cause for grave concern. The postponement of the release of the results has only fuelled tension and fear in Zimbabwe. The credibility of a peaceful vote has been undermined by this delay and the posturing by political parties. This time of uncertainty has created an opportunity for lawlessness.
I trust that the concerns and future of the people of Zimbabwe will be placed first.
Archbishop Buti Tlhagale OMI.
Archbishop of Johannesburg.
President of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

Compiled by Fr. Rocco Puopolo

Published March 15, 2008

Two hundred and fifty Notre Dame Students attended a one-day student-led symposium on human development studies at Notre Dame on February 23, 2008.  Mr. Ray Offenheiser, a Notre Dame graduate who is now the president of Oxfam America, offered the keynote.  What started in September 2006 as the Millennium Development Initiative at Notre Dame University has become the Ford Family Program for Human Development Studies and Solidarity.  Now in its second year of development, this symposium was the first public event of the Ford Program.

The Millennium Development Initiative was to be the vehicle through which Notre Dame would participate in the Millennium Villages Project, inspired by the work of Professor Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University’s Earth Institute.  It was also foreseen as a creative way to promote solidarity and human well-being with Uganda Martyrs University in Nkozi subcounty, about 50 miles west of the Ugandan capital, Kampala, and the Catholic Church’s development arm, Caritas. This moves the program beyond the Millennium Villages Project framework.

The Ford Program encourages an interdisciplinary approach to the study and practice of human development that emphasizes the inherent dignity of the human person.  This is guided by the principles of Catholic Social Teaching.  In this way, the Ford Program affords Notre Dame the opportunity to serve the Catholic Church through scholarship and to strengthen the Catholic Church’s service and outreach to the wider human family.