Roman Catholic Church religious leader and the Executive Director of Centre for Peace Initiatives in Africa Father Fidelis Mukonori last week preached a loaded message of reconciliation, saying without it, there is no true and meaningful development of Zimbabwe.
Speaking at the just-ended CEOs Africa Round Table conference in Victoria Falls the father said:
“… absence of the spirit of reconciliation retards a true, meaningful development in our nation. Both victims and perpetrator remain stunted and dwarfed in progress. Settlement of differences purify the communion in the community…healing…is required by both sides; the victim and the perpetrator. Restoration of health between two individuals…necessitates the restoration of health…of the nation at large.
The perpetrator has admitted the wrongdoing and face the victim…delayed conflict resolution is delayed justice, which could be viewed as a statement that speaks volumes.
Healing is a value chain of prosperity because a healed citizen is a tried and tested leader locally and nationally,” he said, adding “he or she can dream prosperity and not nightmare, though scars or injury will remain”.
Mukonori went further to say:
It takes two to reconcile…harmony is essential in our national value system because friendship…restored will lubricate the whole system in our society. The value system reminds one who may have old scars but take that as part of the frailty and fragility which they will resolve never to allow it to happen to their off springs.’
He went on to touch on the sense of entitlement as a problem in Zimbabwe’s society.
“To be entitled does not necessarily mean that you have. The problem is how we abuse entitlements. As citizens, we are entitled to many privileges but we do not have to exhaust all what we are entitled (to)…consequently, some of the citizens who may not have similar entitlements…by stealing money, vehicles, company or government properties…,”
Mukonori said.
The respected Roman Catholic Church priest’s message interestingly coincides and comes amid apparent escalating tension between two politicians, former President Robert Mugabe and the current one President Emmerson Mnangagwa, with the former venting out and declaring his successor staged a coup at a press conference last week.
It also comes as concerned churches — through the Zimbabwe Amalgamated Churches Council (ZACC) — have sought to intervene and make the heavyweight politicians, who have known each other for over 50 years, find each other.
Last week Father Mukonori’s name attracted negativity when various Twitter users quizzed if he was telling the truth when he said that former President and apparently his friend by President Mugabe was happy ceding power when in actual fact he wasn’t.
Also, this week his diocese, the Archdiocese of Harare was enlisted among other five Church organizations who externalized funds and have not heeded the President’s call to returns the funds.
Source: Daily News (edited)