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Mugabe critic resigns as bishop Mugabe critic resigns as bishop
(9 minutes later)
One of the most prominent critics of Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has resigned as the Archbishop of Bulawayo, following an adultery scandal. A prominent critic of Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has resigned as the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo, after an adultery scandal.
Zimbabwe's state media in July published photographs of what it said was Pius Ncube in bed with a married woman who worked for his parish.Zimbabwe's state media in July published photographs of what it said was Pius Ncube in bed with a married woman who worked for his parish.
His lawyers called the allegations an orchestrated attempt to discredit him.His lawyers called the allegations an orchestrated attempt to discredit him.
Earlier this year, Mr Ncube called for mass street protests to remove Mr Mugabe from power. Earlier this year, Mr Ncube, 60, called for mass street protests to remove Mr Mugabe from power.
A brief statement from the Vatican said Pope Benedict XVI had accepted the resignation of Pius Ncube under the article of church law that says a bishop should retire if he is ill or if "some other grave reason" had made him unsuitable for office.
'Dangerous path'
The woman's husband has sued Mr Ncube for 20bn Zimbabwe dollars (about $160,000, or £80,000, on the black market exchange rate) over the affair.
Last month, Zimbabwe's Roman Catholic Bishops backed Mr Ncube, praising him for "exposing the evils" of Mr Mugabe's regime.
PIUS NCUBE Born: 1946Archbishop of BulawayoWorked in Matabeleland during massacres in the 1980sHas called for protests against Mugabe Profile: The turbulent archbishop "For years, he has courageously and with moral authority advocated social justice and political action to overcome the grievous crisis facing our country," they said in a full-page advert in the state-run Herald newspaper.
President Robert Mugabe has warned the country's bishops they were on a "dangerous path" if they became too political.
Zimbabwe has the world's highest rate of inflation - currently about 7,500% - and just one in five adults are in work.
The opposition says government critics are beaten up and even killed by state agents and supporters of Mr Mugabe.
The government denies such claims, saying there is a western plot to remove him from power.