Harare, Zimbabwe, Feb 6, 2008 / 06:16 am
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the Archbishop of Westminster, recently called for prayer and solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe on a pastoral visit to the African country.
The cardinal traveled with the chair of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales international affairs department, Bishop Crispian Hollis. He met with bishops, including Archbishop of Harare Robert Ndlovu and others from the Zimbabwean bishops’ conference.
Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor visited a township in the south of Harare where poverty and illness, including cholera outbreaks, are endemic. Economic collapse and extreme food shortages have created a desperate situation, with many people gathering near parishes for handouts. The Jesuits recently distributed five tons of corn, but the supply lasted for only three days.
The cardinal visited several projects run by the local Church that were partially funded by Cafod, Caritas Internationalis, and the Pontifical Mission Society, these sites primarily focused on caring for HIV/AIDS victims. Sister Margaret McAllen, director of an HIV/AIDS project in Mashambanzou, told the cardinal that they had cared for over 3,500 families in the community, bringing the most sick into residential care until they recover enough to return to the community.