Zimbabwe Church Leaders Appeal for Government Unity.

The Christian Post reports that Zimbabwe's faith leaders have taken an encouraging role in the country's government as its power-sharing agreement crumbles.Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew from a tenuous partnership with President Robert Mugabe's earlier this week. "To us, this may indicate the first step towards the disintegration and failure of the inclusive government," the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance said. "We are concerned that the collapse of the inclusive government may lead to widespread violence in the country which will have a negative impact on the region." The interdenominational group says they still "pray and hope that the agreement can be retrieved and made to work," said the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance. "It is clear to us that the total failure of this transitional government may lead to chaos and bloodshed."

Zimbabwe Vastly Better than Last Year, U.S. Bishop Says

Catholic News Service reports Zimbabwe is no longer a "desperate" place. "There is food in the shops, people are in the supermarkets buying things," said, Bishop Bishop John H. Ricard of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Fla. Ricard says he sees a "level of hope" that was nonexistent last year, when hyperinflation, drought and political corruption still devastated the country. Ricard and Steve Hilbert, Africa policy adviser in the U.S. bishops' Office of International Justice and Peace, visited the country Aug. 26-28 for the first time since 2008. "It was startling to see the number of people on the streets" of the capital, Harare, Hilbert said. "Zimbabwe a lot has changed for the better." The unity government remains fragile, but Zimbabweans are hopeful that upcoming referendums will lead to a new, permanent constitution to safeguard the country's progress.