Zimbabwe: Archbishop passes abuses file to Mugabe

The Archbishop of Canterbury today presented Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe with a dossier of abuses Anglicans have suffered in his country.

Dr Rowan Williams, the head of the worldwide Anglican Church, was joined by Anglican leaders in Africa in asking the president to use his powers to stop the abuses.

Dr Williams and the Archbishops of Central Africa, Southern Africa and Tanzania issued a statement saying: “We come here to be in solidarity with our Anglican sisters and brothers at the invitation of the local church – the Anglican Province of Central Africa, which includes the five dioceses of Zimbabwe.

“As you know this has been a time of immense trial. Since 2007 Anglican congregations in Zimbabwe have suffered serious persecution at the hands of the police.

"They have been intimidated. Their churches have been closed. Properties, including schools and clinics, have been seized.

“As representatives of the Anglican Communion, and with the support of ecumenical friends worldwide, we strongly and unequivocally support the efforts of ordinary Anglicans to worship in peace and to minister to the spiritual and material needs of their communities.

“Today we were able to present President Mugabe with a dossier compiled by the bishops in Zimbabwe which gives a full account of the abuses to which our people and our church has been subject.

“We have asked, in the clearest possible terms, that the president use his powers as head of state to put an end to all unacceptable and illegal behaviour.

“We are proud of our church and our people who have suffered so much, but who continue to serve with love and with hope.

“For our part we pray, and invite you to join us in praying, that the Anglican Church in Zimbabwe be allowed to carry out its mission in peace, and serve its communities with love.”

Dr Williams has praised worshippers in Zimbabwe for being courageous in the face of a bitter dispute between mainstream Anglicans and a breakaway group.

During his pastoral visit to central Africa, he said Anglican worshippers were constantly “tortured by uncertainty and risk of attack” and had endured “mindless and Godless assaults” in the African country.

Since 2007 Zimbabwe’s Anglican Church has been split by a row over the ordination of gay priests.

Nolbert Kunonga, the former bishop of Harare, the country’s capital, left the Anglican province of central Africa, declaring himself Archbishop of Harare in place of the bishop recognised by the rest of the Anglican Communion, Bishop Chad Gandiya.

He also seized church property including the cathedral.

The church schism left mainstream Anglicans without places of worship, and they have faced intimidation and threats of violence, according to reports.

Dr Williams met Mr Mugabe as part of a trip to Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

Earlier this year, Dr Williams wrote an open letter to the Zimbabwean president urging him to stop the persecution of Anglicans in Zimbabwe.

According to reports, Mr Kunonga, who has been excommunicated, and his supporters demonstrated outside Harare’s main cathedral against Dr Williams’s visit.

Mr Kunonga insists he split from the Anglican Church because of its position on gay marriage and said that the Archbishop of Canterbury’s visit to Zimbabwe was a “crusade for gays”.