Pius Ncube has been Robert Mugabe's most outspoken critic, condemning the injustices of the regime that has brought Zimbabwe to its knees and its people to the brink of starvation. Now he has stepped down as Archbishop of Bulawayo, two months after allegations emerged of an affair with a church employee whose husband has brought a case against him. By the time he resigned the scandal had already damaged Archbishop Ncube's standing in Zimbabwe, with wide coverage of the accusations, including publication of grainy photographs. This was patently useful to the Mugabe regime, prompting speculation that the security services may have been involved in producing the pictures.

In standing down, Bishop Ncube acknowledges that the forthcoming court case could both tarnish the Church and risk distracting attention from the injustices perpetrated by Mugabe and his Government. Bishop Ncube has, however, pledged to continue to speak out, albeit not from Archbishop's House. His courage has been remarkable, as he has been consistently prepared to expose the excesses of Mugabe's regime. To see such a man of fortitude brought down by human frailty is a tragedy. But even more calamitous is that, however much he desires to continue combating Mugabe's injustices, his voice has become, if not entirely stilled, at least muted.

The vacuum he leaves needs to be filled, and urgently. Zimbabwe's economy is collapsing, inflation is at 7,600 per cent, four-fifths of the people are unemployed, more than a million are expected to need food aid by the end of the year, and dissidents are punished. Yet Mugabe's Zanu-PF maintains its grip on power. Who will now bring attention to the plight of the Zimbabwean people? So far most other African nations have been noticeable in their failure to address the problem of Zimbabwe. Rather, it has been left to churchmen both within and outside Zimbabwe to denounce its Government. When Zimbabwe's own bishops' conference, in its Easter ...

The pastoral letter published this week by the bishops of England and Wales, confirming the Catholic Church's commitment to education and the provision of schools, can be interpreted in two ways. On the one hand, it can be seen as a proud affirmation of the Church's record. Its schools are popular with parents for their traditional ethos, high expectations of pupils, strong sense of community and record of ...

The Catholic Church throughout the developed world faces a series of challenges: a fast-changing society, declining attendance, liturgical disputes, falling vocations, scandals caused by child abuse. It is an uncomfortable position to be in, whether experienced in the pew of the parish church, in its pulpit, in archbishop's house, or in the heart of Rome. The barque of Peter may not be sunk, but these are distinctly ...

Ever since the Catholic Peter Benenson founded Amnesty International in 1961, the story of the pressure group has been one of heartbreak. While the group, now with 1.8 million members around the world, has been hugely successful in highlighting the plight of prisoners of conscience and helping to free some of them, its existence has not stemmed the tide of those persecuted for their beliefs by governments, despots ...