Sheesh!  As an Anglican, I am mortified.

Anglican bishops of the Province of Central Africa have written a pastoral letter generally supportive of Zimbabwe’s megalomaniacal dictator, only days after Roman Catholic leaders called for regime change.  The Anglicans recognised that, because the country’s economy has almost completely tanked, it is very difficult for ordinary citizens to survive.  But, they went on, that’s not Robert Mugabe’s fault.

“So-called targeted sanctions aimed at the leadership of the country have affected the poor Zimbabweans who have borne the brunt of sanctions,” the bishops said after a meeting of the central African Episcopal Synod.

That’s pretty much the same line Mugabe takes when explaining the foundering economy.

So, Mugabe’s ruination of Zimbabwe’s agricultural industry by seizing hugely productive white-owned farms that now lie wasted has nothing to do with that.

By contrast, Zimbabwe’s Catholics met last week under the leadership of Archbishop Pius Ncube and issued a statement accusing Mugabe and his cronies of corruption and political abuses and deploring the government's disregard for human rights. 

The Anglican pastoral letter was signed by Archbishop Bernard Malango, primate of Central Africa, and twelve other Anglican leaders, including Nolbert Kunonga, Bishop of Harare, and Trevor Mwamba, Bishop of Botswana.  (The list of signatories is found near the bottom of this page.)

The letter represents an embarrassment for Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams who last month signed a joint statement with Abp Malango and Bp Kunonga expressing concern about the human rights situation in Zimbabwe.  The two African Anglicans now appear rather less concerned about that.

Previous related posts:

UPDATE (23 Apr.):  The pastoral letter of the Anglican Bishops of the Province of Central Africa is posted here, and the pastoral letter of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference is posted here.  Compare and contrast.

Thanks respectively to Pageantmaster and Paula L, commenters at Stand Firm in Faith, for the links.  Thanks also to Greg Griffith for linking to this post.  There was some discussion at Stand Firm as to whether the Anglican bishops' letter really does support Mugabe, and I threw in another two cents' worth over there.

UPDATE (26 Apr.): Follow-ups here and here.