FATHER Oskar Wermter, in a recent article published in a local daily, seems to contradict himself, and other clergy before him, when he argues that ‘on the basis of humanity we are one’.
Oneness is definitely not exposed through selective judgment.
In the article cited above, the Jesuit priest blames the Government, which he does not like anyway, for the mode of justice administered by a youthful officer.
But he says nothing about the destructive nature of the demo nor does the veteran priest reprimand the leaders of MDC-T and ZimPF for organising the violent mob.
That’s not, I am sure, what he means when he says: “Everyone must be given equal treatment regardless of race, sex, religion or party.”
If the Catholic Jesuit Priest had thought of giving the offending youthful officer some spiritual guidance, he might as well have done the same to the ‘victim’.
For this ‘old’ lady is in fact an MDC-T activist and serial police provoker, who seems to arrange, in advance, with international photographers when and how she would attract a beating from police during a demonstration.
Spiritual guidance, maybe, from Fr Wermter himself might discourage this ‘elderly’ lady from rehearsing more mischief.
On the basis of the humanity advocated by Fr Wermter, surely Fr Andrew Hartmann, another Jesuit missionary, would not have led the so-called Pioneer Column into colonising another race.
The dedicated missionary must have been aware of the slave trade era when whites considered blacks inferior and incapable of governing themselves.
Father Wermter surprises us when he writes at length about ‘compassion’.
We agree with his description when he says compassion means ‘suffering with (someone)’.
But when it comes to regime change, with the intention of removing from power the revolutionary black-run government, the word ‘compassion’ disappears from his vocabulary.
For what else can explain his lack of concern about sanctions.
How can a compassionate priest ignore a piece of American legislation signed by their president, which is meant to cripple the country economically?
If Fr Wermter reads some of the literature by his Catholic brethren, he surely must have come across the thoughts of a certain Fr Biehler.
Father Biehler, who was at Chishawasha Mission, described blacks as the ‘most hopeless of mankind’ who had to be ‘exterminated’.
And yet Father Wermter quotes Mathew 7 vs 12 to emphasise the question of equality:
“Do to no one what you would not want done to you.”
Maybe the kind of compassion Fr Wermter is talking about is determined by the race factor.
We also wonder if Fr Francis Richartz, who founded Chishawasha Mission, even had an iota of compassion.
Here is a Catholic Priest with a nightmarish fear of the influence of Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi on the whiteman’s religion.
He tried to ‘persuade’ them to be baptised before they were killed so that their remaining followers might follow suit.
He insulted Sekuru Kaguvi by naming him ‘Dismas’, the name of a biblical thief, when he had innocently agreed to be baptised.
Most of these missionaries from the time of Fr Gonzalo da Silveira, despite preaching ‘compassion’ to their congregations, were, and still are racist.
They have used their religion in order to soften the blacks ahead of the more crude settlers.
The sword used by the hard-core colonialists would have been less effective if the pacifying influence of the cross carried by missionaries had not been the forerunner.
Memories of the colonial era and the role played by missionaries will remain indelible.
We have restrained ourselves in handling Fr Wermter’s dislike of our Government of former liberation heroes.
However, we would appreciate it if the veteran priest concentrates on matters related to spiritual affairs – without bias.
Otherwise if he continues straying into the jungles of politics, we will end up considering him fair game.