ZIMBABWE:One of Zimbabwe's leading dissident figures, the outspoken Catholic archbishop of Bulawayo, has resigned from his post after being accused of having sex with a church secretary.
Dr Pius Ncube (60), who gained international plaudits for robustly criticising Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe, said he had resigned to "protect the church" from damage to its public image.
The cleric is fighting a 20 billion Zimbabwean dollars (€120,000) lawsuit brought by the husband of a woman with whom he allegedly had an affair.
Two months ago, Zimbabwean media published pictures purporting to show Dr Ncube climbing naked on top of the woman in his bedroom. Video clips of what state broadcasters gleefully called the "archbishop's love nest" were also shown.
Friends of the archbishop said the scenes were fabricated as part of a politically motivated smear campaign.
However, Dr Ncube himself has not directly denied the allegations.
In a statement released by the Vatican yesterday, it was revealed that Dr Ncube first tendered his resignation last July, just days after the sex scandal broke.
The one-line statement said Pope Benedict had accepted the request under Canon 401.2, which covers resignations for illness or some other grave reason.
In a separate statement, Dr Ncube said he would remain in Zimbabwe as a bishop and would "continue to speak out on the issues that sadly become more acute by the day".
However, he said, "it is my feeling that I should face this case in court as Pius Ncube, an individual, not that the Holy Catholic Church of God should seem to be on trial . . . I know that there will be many of you who will be bitterly disappointed at my leaving my post as archbishop of Bulawayo - and a few who will be delighted, seeing their mission as having been accomplished."
Fr Frederick Chiromba, secretary general of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference told the Catholic News Service that the resignation "is not to be seen as an admission of guilt".
The bishops' conference had previously described the media reports as an "outrageous and utterly deplorable" attempt to divert attention from the catastrophe Zimbabwe faces.
In his letter of resignation, Mr Ncube said the sex allegations were "obviously a state-driven, vicious attack not just on myself, but by proxy on the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe".
In South Africa, which has borne the brunt of a major exodus of Zimbabweans in recent months, senior Catholic clergy expressed shock at the resignation.
"This will have huge repercussions in Zimbabwe, where he is seen as a prophetic voice," said Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg.
Dr Ncube has been a strident critic of the government's policies, declaring his readiness to "go in front of blazing guns" to remove Mr Mugabe from power.
Mr Mugabe, who received a Catholic education from Jesuit missionaries, has ruled the former British colony since independence in 1980.