Archbishop Pius Ncube, a leading Catholic clergyman in suffering Zimbabwe, has risked a very great deal to stand up to the dictator Robert Mugabe. In recent days, he even publicly committed treason by inviting foreign nations to invade. And now, his reputation is in ruins. Mugabe's secret police installed a camera in the archbishop's bedroom, and reportedly photographed him carrying out a sexual affair with a woman. From the report:
In a state television interview, Archbishop Ncube refused to directly address the allegation. But he said that while he had taken a vow of celibacy, “there are a whole lot of other circumstances that take place in a person’s life.”The woman said to be involved in the affair, identified in state newspapers as Rosemary Sibanda, was quoted as saying she has had a two-year affair with the archbishop but was separated from her husband when the photographs were taken. A Bulawayo railroad worker claiming to be her husband filed a lawsuit against Archbishop Ncube demanding 20 billion Zimbabwe dollars in damages — about $150,000 at prevailing black-market exchange rates, given the nation’s disastrous inflation.
A parade of government-controlled newspaper and broadcast representatives trailed the Bulawayo sheriff to Archbishop Ncube’s church, St. Mary’s Cathedral, where he was served a summons in the lawsuit.
Mr. Mugabe appears to have known about the photographs for some time. On July 7, he directed supporters to ignore church leaders who he said were “peddling falsehoods” about his 27-year tenure.
“Where is the godliness?” he said at the time. “One cannot tell the difference between a bishop and a layman anymore. Some of them have sworn to celibacy, but they sleep around.”
On Wednesday, a day after the photographs were splashed on television and in the government press, Mr. Mugabe, 83, said in a speech that he was praying for his enemy.
“I can also do what Pius Ncube did, but I never vowed to remain celibate,” Mr. Mugabe said in Harare, the capital, during a funeral speech for an army general. “Having vowed to remain celibate before God, please keep your faith, my friend. This business of taking other people’s women is not a good game.”
Mugabe is an evil, evil man, and this is the voice of the devil mocking a man of God. But the scandalous story appears to be true; the archbishop's lawyers are moving to have the photographs suppressed as defamatory, but unless I misunderstand something, the lawyers don't deny their accuracy.
If this is all proven true, it will be a terrible blow to the cause of justice and liberty in Zimbabwe, to say nothing of the Catholic Church's standing. What a tragedy. If Ncube knew he was so badly compromised, why on earth did he take on this ruthless dictator? Baffling.
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In the Marine Corps, we have a saying WRT those who would exercise authority over others: "Lead from the front." A good officer doesn't simply order his men to cross the minefield while kicking back & drinking coffee in a climate-controlled office; he's right along with them, if not actually taking point. This sort of thing makes sense in a military, of course; marching _toward_ the sound of certain death is a terribly unnatural act, and leaders must use every tool in their arsenal to convince their men to do what must be done (even at the cost of their own lives). Showing that you're willing to not only talk the talk, but walk the walk, is one way of doing so. A good military cultivates this sort of "lead from the front" mentality among the Powers That Be; see casualty rates for Israeli & German Wehrmacht officers for example.
I suspect, although I cannot prove, that this necessity (in combination with evolution) is one of the man reasons why "hypocrisy" is often seen as being such a serious charge against one who would wield moral authority. Although the statement "2 + 2 = 4" is no less correct when made by an adulterer, than by a virtuous man, most people are nevertheless disposed to trust the latter more than the former. Some people can make this distinction - between what is said & who is saying it, and evaluate the former as valid even when the latter is not otherwise credible. But many others (I would wager to say "most others") have a deep need to see our leaders "walk the walk", even if, from a philosophical standpoint, their failure to do so does not detract one iota from the validity of their pronouncements.
Jason,
Many married military men fail in that regard--and that's even though they know that they are only away from their wives for a limited period of time. RCC priests are expected to be celibate for the rest of their lives.
Granted, I'm not saying that Ncube didn't "fail" in that he did not break the vows he took upon ordination. That he did is obvious. Nor am I trying to give him a pass because of whatever else good that he's done.
What I'm saying is that even if their best priests--such as the ones who take courageous stands against dictators--can't maintain this level of asceticism (as opposed to the garden-variety cowardly abuser), shouldn't the RCC review this doctrine? Or is it really preferable to have an entire clerical class afraid to do what is right because they know inside that they're hypocrites? Or that they're blackmailable?
Demetrio
The world has reason to be outraged by Zimbabwe atrocities. The government is methodically and systematically stealing land from generations old white settlers and giving it to blacks who are friendly with the current government. The fact that
President Robert G. Mugabe has gotten some "dirt" about the Archbishop's personal life shouldn't surprise anyone. Who cares about a little indiscretion? There are much larger moral issues in Zimbabwe.
Demetrio,
The fundamental point is that if they do not think they can handle it, then they don't have to become Priests. There is no shame in not being a Priest. If you want to be married, then that is a great and holy vocation.
If a man doesn't know after 8 years of Seminary whether he can handle celibacy, then he will never know. What we need is not to abandon the discipline (not doctrine) of celibacy, but to make sure that men know what the vocation entails, and that they are prepared for that sacrifice.
*Just to be clear, I'm not saying that men who genuinely promise to be celibate knowing what it means will never fall in temptation. But I'm speaking about the larger issue that because celibate men sometimes fall, that therefore the problem is with celibacy. When a celibate falls from chastity, it doesn't mean they can't handle it, it means they had a fall, and they need to pick themselves up and start again. If they use the fact of their fall and then say that they shouldn't have to bear that sacrifice, then that is a deeper problem with their vocation in life. They shouldn't have become Priests in the first place (I'm speaking in general, not about this Archbishop or anyone in particular).
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