The Religious Left's Monster

FrontPageMagazine.com ^ | April 2, 2007 | Mark D. Tooley

[Perseverando]

Finally, a Western church official is condemning the increasingly brutal regime of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe.

It has been a long-time coming. The reticence is due, perhaps in part, to the fact that left-leaning Western church groups helped to install Mugabe in power nearly 30 years ago.

Noting his own group’s support for Zimbabwe’s path to “liberation” in the 1970’s, the head of the Geneva-based Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is now condemning Mugabe’s “unprecedented brutality and oppression.” On March 15, LWF General Secretary Ishmael Noko asked the Africa Union to lean against Mugabe.

“The attacks upon opposition leaders, human rights workers and journalists are mounting daily in number and severity,” Noko observed. “Participants in peaceful demonstrations and expressions of resistance have been imprisoned, attacked, wounded and killed,” he wrote. “The government of Zimbabwe is prepared to use the instruments of State power against its own people in complete disregard for their human rights and for the government's own constitutional responsibilities.”

Noko also described the “collapse” of Zimbabwe’s once functional economy, the hyper-inflation, and the flood of refugees out of Zimbabwe. “The grievances of the people with regard to poverty, unemployment, security, and abuse of power represent fundamental failures of government,” Noko wrote. “And in addition to destroying his own people and the image of his country, Mr Mugabe's actions are destroying all possibilities for rebuilding the image of African political leadership in general.”

The Lutheran cleric wants Mugabe’s regime to reverse his “self-destructive course, to cease its attacks upon its own people, to correct its failed economic policies, and to reverse its aggressive isolationism.” Noko recalled that his LWF had “stood in strong solidarity with the struggle for freedom and independence for Zimbabwe.”

Many leftist-led Western church groups did considerably more for Mugabe than simply stand in solidarity.

[2banana]

Starting in the late 1960,’s, the Geneva-based World Council of Churches (WCC) began funding Mugabe’s ZANU guerrilla insurrection in then white-controlled Rhodesia. In 1974, Anglican bishops in Rhodesia observed with “disgust” that the WCC had granted 6000 pounds to ZANU. Pointing to ZANU’s terrorism aimed at both white and black civilians, the bishops lamented: “Far and away the majority of these have been Africans, innocent of any offense and most have been killed with great brutality. Others have been abducted, raped, beaten and disfigured.”

There socialist fools should be forced to live in Zimbabwe for 5 years...

[Farmer Dean]

As usual,a day late and a dollar short with these guys.Pathetic.

[desherwood7]

I wonder if these "Christian" "Peace" Activists see God in Mugabe like they allegedly do with Monster they grovel to.

[chaos_5]

If it wasn't for the sanctions, driven by the "white guilt" of the west, Rhodesia could have won that war and none of this would be happening.

[polymuser]

Gee, maybe they should push worldwide separation of church and stae...

[aberaussie]

bttt

[Noumenon]

The Left never met a socialist mass-nurderer that they didn't like. The blood of innocents is on their hands. But will they ever be caled to account? Not in our lifetime.

Being a liberal socialsit means never having to say you're sorry.

[Porterville]

bump

[RC51]

Mormons at least get it right when it comes to foreign policy. Have they ever sided with Leftist Socialists that lead to death, poverty & oppression?