The Philosopher has no dog in the race of Zimbabwean politics. (You can all breathe a sigh of relief now.) Therefore, agreeing with President Robert Mugabe on a religious point need not be taken as an endorsement of a man considered to be dictatorial.
When the Druid who heads the C of E complained to the African strongman about some Anglican-on-Anglican violence associated with a schism in Zimbabwe, Mugabe stated an historical fact. It is an utterance that most Catholic prelates would consider it impolitic to say in front of the layman who heads the Established Church.
When Dr. Williams spoke with Mugabe about the rebellious prelate, the autocratic ruler replied that the Anglican church itself is “a breakaway group” that splintered from the Catholic Church. [source]
As Franklin Delano Roosevelt said of Anastazio Somoza: “he might be a bastard, but he’s our bastard.” WikiPedia says that Mugabe is a Catholic.
