{"id":11222,"date":"2025-12-15T08:35:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T08:35:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/?p=11222"},"modified":"2025-12-15T08:35:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T08:35:10","slug":"zimbabwe-catholic-bishops-issue-urgent-call-to-prayer-ahead-of-key-abortion-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/?p=11222","title":{"rendered":"Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Issue Urgent Call to Prayer Ahead of Key Abortion Vote"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><br>Innocent Sibonginkosi Ncube | Zim GBC News<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a powerful pastoral statement to be read in all parishes this Sunday, the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops\u2019 Conference (ZCBC) has issued a direct appeal to the nation\u2019s conscience and its Senators, urging them to \u201cchoose life\u201d and reject the impending Medical Services Bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Bill, set for a vote in the Senate in the coming week, proposes amendments to the Termination of Pregnancy Act, which the bishops warn \u201cseeks to legalize abortion in Zimbabwe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Citing Deuteronomy 30:19, the statement declares: \u201cAs the Church we are totally against abortion, and we would like to appeal to all people of faith and all those who value life to pray and speak against this evil.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Bishops framed the moment as a critical historical juncture, contrasting last year\u2019s abolition of the death penalty with the current legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHow sad it is that the whole world celebrated with us last year\u2026 and today it watches as we take a back step and sanction the massacre of the innocent,\u201d the statement reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHistory will judge us harshly for failing to defend the lives of the weaker members of our society.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The statement upholds \u201cthe sanctity of life from conception to a natural death,\u201d a principle it says is mirrored in Zimbabwean traditional culture. It calls on all citizens, especially people of faith, to pray and to directly contact their Senators to urge a \u2018no\u2019 vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a direct challenge to the nation\u2019s lawmakers, the Bishops posed a pointed question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTo our Senators we make a strong appeal to your consciences: Is it money, political correctness or seeking relevance that sees you choose to worship at the altar of human sacrifice? As Moses commanded the Israelites, we urge you to choose life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The statement is signed by ZCBC President Bishop Paul Horan of Mutare and the conference\u2019s full leadership, including the Archbishops of Harare and Bulawayo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The faithful are invited to begin a period of prayer from today Sunday, 14 December, leading up to the Senate vote, for the protection of life and for the Senators tasked with the decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Follow us for more updates:<br>\u00b7X (Twitter): @ZimGbc<br>\u00b7Instagram: @ZimGBCNews<br>\u00b7TikTok: @ZimGBCNews_01<br>\u00b7Facebook: Zim GBC News<br>\u00b7YouTube: Zim GBC News<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Get real-time alerts on WhatsApp:<br>+263 773 820 323<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For in-depth coverage, visit our website: www.zimgbcnews.co.zw<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Zim GBC News | Global News From An African Perspective\u00a92025<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Innocent Sibonginkosi Ncube | Zim GBC News In a powerful pastoral statement to be read in all parishes this Sunday, the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops\u2019 Conference (ZCBC) has issued a direct&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11223,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[126],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11222"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11224,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11222\/revisions\/11224"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}