Millions facing “subhuman struggles” in Zimbabwe – Bishops cry out

The Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ZCBC) has called on leaders of the East African nation to “remember the poor” as millions continue to endure deepening hardship marked by economic inequality, social exclusion and exploitation.

In their Advent pastoral message, the bishops say the season is “an invitation to a new beginning, a moment of grace in which we look back with gratitude and repentance, and look forward with faith and hope.” They describe Advent as a time that “calls us to pause and examine our lives as Christians and as a nation,” asking, “What kind of people are we becoming? What kind of Church and nation are we building?”

Turning attention to the worsening plight of the poor, the bishops said, “Their cry is a painful reality we cannot ignore.” Citing Pope Leo XIV’s Dilexit Te, they add: “On the wounded faces of the poor, we see the suffering of the innocent and the suffering of Christ Himself.”

They lament that many Zimbabweans “continue to live without access to decent work, adequate food, quality education, or basic healthcare.” Too often, the bishops warn, citizens face “economic inequality, social exclusion, political manipulation, degrading labour practices, and the subhuman struggles that many endure simply to survive.”

The bishops also condemn the abuse of local workers by some foreign companies operating in the country. “We are especially concerned about the suffering of Zimbabweans at the hands of certain foreign investors who exploit workers through unfair labour practices, appalling conditions, poor remuneration, or even violence,” they say. While welcoming responsible investment, they caution that “economic progress must never come at the expense of human dignity,” adding: “At times, it appears that in our own land, certain investors are more protected than citizens. This ought not to be so.”

Environmental destruction also features prominently in the letter. The bishops decry the “reckless exploitation of natural resources — minerals, forests, wetlands, rivers — which are being depleted and polluted at an unsustainable rate.” Quoting Laudato Si’, they remind the nation: “The earth herself, burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor.”

They warn that when nature is destroyed, “it is the poor who suffer first and most — through loss of farmland, contaminated water, climate shocks, and displacement.” True development, they say, “cannot arise from the ruin of ecosystems or the suffering of communities displaced by extractive industries.”

Calling for “a renewed national commitment to responsible stewardship,” the bishops insist that progress must be rooted in justice and care for creation: “Everything is interconnected: the well-being of people, the health of the environment, and the moral fabric of society.”