image008Bishop of Gweru diocese, Rt Rev. Xavier Munyongani who represented Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’s Conference (ZCBC) at the Extraordinary and Ordinary Synod of Bishops in Rome in 2014 and 2015 on the family, respectively encouraged married faithful to respond to the call of their vocation and take extra care of their children and spouses.

He said this during a mass celebrated by bishops from Zimbabwe’s 8 dioceses at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Harare on the 6th of April following their annual plenary meeting.

In his homily, Bishop Munyongani said if all people were Christians in practice and if they had all risen together with Christ the Church would be on a whole new level on the issue of divorce.

“The Synod (on the family) was talking about living together, bearing together, facing the situation together. …what is the common way we can take together as the Church of God? …If we were truly Christian and if we had risen with Christ we would not discuss divorce in any court”, he said.

He went on to challenge men to stand with their families and all married couples to obey the teachings of the Bible, which is the supreme law despite having all other legal interventions that are set to balance roles and responsibilities between women and men in social, economic and political spheres.

“The United Nations Charter on Human Rights is good but it cannot supersede what God, who is the divine law giver who said wives should be submissive to their husbands. Husbands you must love your wives as Christ has loved the Church. But if you husbands cannot stand for your families even in these harsh economic conditions, you are not like Christ” he said.

The Bishop implored the congregation to reflect on how missionaries like the Jesuits and Dominican sisters martyred in Musami did not run away despite the dangers and difficulties they faced in their mission and how it must motivate families to soldier on and show each other love in times of difficult circumstances.