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	Zimbabwe: Two Press Statements, One Office allAfrica September 12, 2007 http://allafrica.com/stories/200709120132.html Harare Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference Press Statement (August 31 2007) Recent events relating to Archbishop Pius Ncube The recent attacks by some politicians and the State media on the person of Archbishop Pius Ncube are outrageous and utterly deplorable. They constitute an assault on the Catholic Church, to which we take strong exception. The Catholic Church has never been and is not an enemy of Zimbabwe. We are serving the people of our country pastorally and in many other ways, through over 60 mission hospitals, many orphanages and 174 primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions. Our record during the years of the liberation struggle speaks for itself. The matter of Archbishop Ncube is now before the High Court of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo. It is, therefore, sub judice and should not be discussed in public until a verdict has been delivered by the courts. Moreover, the Constitution of Zimbabwe clearly defends the presumption of innocence of an accused person as a legal safeguard for a fair hearing before an impartial tribunal. Acting in complete disregard of these universally respected conventions, the State media obtained and publicised, for days on end, in print and on television, video and photographic material, which violated the most fundamental personal rights of Archbishop Ncube and were utterly offensive to the public. We repeat what we said in our recent Pastoral Letter: The people of Zimbabwe are suffering. Their freedom and fundamental human rights are violated daily with impunity, the shelves of shops and supermarkets are empty, our currency has become worthless, the public health service has collapsed, the country's main roads are lined with tens of thousands of citizens waiting for public transport, corruption is rampant and young people are risking their lives daily and in growing numbers to escape the catastrophe that our country has become. The crude attempts at diverting attention from these facts by intensifying the hate propaganda and character assassination against those Zimbabweans who, like Archbishop Ncube, have spoken out in defence of the oppressed, has not deceived ordinary Zimbabweans. Quite the contrary. Archbishop Ncube has fearlessly exposed the evils of the Gukurahundi massacres and of Operation Murambatsvina. For years, he has courageously and with moral authority advocated social justice and political action to overcome the grievous crisis facing our country. We support him fully in his present painful personal situation and ask all our faithful to remember him in their prayers. Inserted by: Social Communications Department of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference Press Release(September 11 2007) Pope Benedict XVI, on Tuesday, 11 September 2007, accepted the resignation of Archbishop Pius A. Ncube as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Bulawayo. The resignation was tendered to the Holy Father by Archbishop Ncube in accordance with canon 401§2 of the Code of Canon Law. Canon 401§2 encourages a bishop to offer his resignation when, because of health or some other serious reason, he has become less able to fulfil his office. Coinciding with the acceptance of Archbishop Ncube's resignation, the Holy See, through its congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, has named Father Martin Schupp, CMM, Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Bulawayo, "sede vacante et ad nutum Sancate Sedis" (until the Holy See decides otherwise in respect to the Archdiocese that is now vacant.)
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