President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe told journalists on his return to Harare, that the late John Paul II’s beatification was “fabulous” and “absolutely heavenly”.
“It was right that the spiritual honour be given to Pope John Paul II,” Mugabe said.
The Vatican waded off a lot of criticism aimed at it for inviting the Zimbabwe First Family to the ceremony. The Vatican said it had “nothing to hide” and that President Mugabe’s presence was a “function” of the diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Zimbabwe.
Mugabe travelled to Rome by virtue of the Lateran Treaty which created a “diplomatic corridor” between the Vatican and the rest of the world. The convention also applies to the United Nations. He labelled as “unholy” denying Zimbabwe journalists entrance into the Vatican State.
“I was surprised and shocked that on this holy trip there was an unholy decision to bar one of our journalists called Reuben Barwe,” Mugabe told the Herald, a state-owned newspaper.
Travel restrictions aside, observers have expressed shock that Mugabe was invited to the heart of Catholicism, despite recently slamming Catholic Bishops as “liars,” and “puppets of the West.”
Recently, Mugabe, who is Catholic, addressed members of the Zion Christian Church and said he had lost confidence in his church’s bishops.
“Often Catholic bishops expose that they are not their own men; they are mere puppets of Western Countries. I grew up in a Catholic Church but now I am totally frustrated by how these so called men of God lie. All Catholic bishops are liars, they demonise my party every day.”
He added: “I observed how they operate and my conclusion is that almost three quarters of them who are whites, feed people with lies.”
Mugabe has previously travelled to Rome despite travel bans, and in 2005 attended John Paul II’s funeral. He then returned to Rome in 2008, travelling under the auspices of the United Nations (UN), for a summit of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation.
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