Archbishop Mpundu was speaking in Mumbwa yesterday at Christ the King Parish when he administered confirmation to 29 parishioners.
The Archbishop who is also president of the Zambia Council of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) said although the law allows the courts to grant divorce, the church does not recognize it because marriage comes from God.
The senior cleric expressed concern at thousands of marriages which were blessed in the church and are now being dissolved by various courts a sign that people do not respect the sacrament of matrimony.
He added that priestly formation takes many years to prepare and there is need to adequately prepare couples for marriage as there is no difference between the sacraments of holy orders and that of matrimony.
The senior catholic clergy further disclosed that the diocese through the pastoral officer has come up with pre marriage catechetical lessons to start preparing youths above 21 years for marriage for a period of not less than three years.
He challenged senior couples in parishes to get involved as counselors to help young couples respect marriages as opposed to going to courts
Things have changed imwe. Time you changed as a church. You should also start allowing your clergy to marry like abanenu ba Anglican. Some priests tusangwa nabo mubuchende because of your restrictive laws and rules.
So if you are stuck with a violent partner, just go in advance and buy a plot at Mutumbi cemetery and a coffin from outside UTH mortuary, compliments of the great Catholic church. We shall drink and sing your praises at your funeral.
What do these Catholic Priests know about marriage?
Archbishop Mpundu is probably the most unhelpful catholic Archbishop Zambia has ever had. He is polemic and divisive, but not consistent. His church recognised the 2nd marriage of President Sata. Was it because he was President? Now he says, ‘There is no difference between the sacraments of holy orders and that of matrimony,’ but, priests have been defrocked. Why can’t marriages be dissolved too? The Bible allows divorce under certain circumstances. Societies change and new circumstances come into play. There was no gender-based violence in biblical times. Had it been there, the Bible would have included it as a reason for divorce, I am sure.
Reposted @ You may hate Bishop Mpundu but what he has said is the Gospel Truth!!!
In the Bible,a man is only allowed to divorce the wife if she is caught commiting adultery-thats it!!!IF NOT,THEN A MAN CANNOT DIVORCE A WIFE!!! If a man divorces a wife on any other grounds,then he is just sining if he marries again.but if one partner dies,then the remaining one is free to marry someone who has never been in marriage.or a widow and widower are free to marry anytime.ANY OTHER SITUATIONS ARE NOT ALLOWED BY GOD!!!so one has to be very careful before marrying because if you marry a wrong partner then “NINSHI WA PAPA KALAMA!!!” Only death can set another person free-THIS IS WHAT GOD SAYS!!READ 1 CORINTHIANS 7:1……….DOWN!!!
NJIMBU BB 2017!!!
Ba dalisto is Very safe, no one will divorce her, all presidential intiltements are hers!! She is very safe,
@The Observer
The ‘good news’ truth?
What do marriages got to do with the Bible? Our ancestors used to marry too. Moslems, Hindus and none believers marry too. Let us not discourage people from going to church.
I have Catholics colleagues in Zambia who have gone through hell to have their marriages annulled. From my understanding, it seems their Church should have a say before the courts finally grant the divorce.
@The Chosen fimo fimo, the church is saying in the eyes of God there is no divorce. It’s the respect of sacrament of matrimony. Under the circumstances of adultery the say you divorce, nevertheless, to God you remain one. remember the same Bible says man will leave daddy and mommy to join a woman and the two will become one. So if you divorce, you should not marry again. If you do, you form another oneness! I think it’s so confusing especially to those who have divorced and remarried several times…must have formed many times oneness. Let’s leave it to God. The Bible Canon did not compile all the scrolls or Bible books, they left some saying the book would be too bulky.
That is a tough one. How can you have a mediator who, with impunity does not recognize the law of the land . How can this mediator hope to bring two warring political parties in Zambia without bringing them to order in terms of obeying the law of the land. Is the catholic being selective on what part of the constitution they can obey? Are the catholics being selective on the rights they can give human beings. Surely, it is a human right to choose who you want to live with? Isn’t that a human rights issue?
I think catholics should stay away from political and constitution matters like the watch towers. They can’t come into the right and being selective about what rules to respect. That is simply being abusive.
They are not Watch Towers, but Jeheva`s Witnesses. A Watch Tower is just a magazine they sell. But mu chibemba mwena niba Chitawala, probbabbly influenced by the magazine name!!
Kunda Weyaya, sorry for offending your religion. Please accept my apologies
Kunda christians are witnesses of Jesus not Jehovah. In Acts 1:8 Jesus said “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
but do you condone Free Masson satamic marriages like that of Akainde and Mrs Armageddon
I cant even imagine any sane person listeninig to this with all due respect sir.
I agree with the Bishop. I really don’t see a need for a marriage certificate from the court. It shouldn’t have existed in the first place. Even with a certificate still people divorce, so what’s the purpose for it. Marriage is based on morals and respect between two people. This is ingrained in People through counselling and marriage preparation. If your parents and counsellors prepare you well for marriage, you don’t need a certificate, for what??
Church is not law
Imwe aMpundu, boma ni boma
Bishop Mpundu, people want HEALTHY SOLUTIONS for their problems. COURTS probably gives both psychological and social SOLUTIONS. The CHURCHES have disintegrated their ROLES today, churches don’t GIVE people reliable SOLUTIONS instead of that , COURT comes in to declare the way forward. If it’s DIVORCE court just ASK two parties ( couples) to agree for ONE accord , if it’s YES goes like that, if it’s NO goes like that.
Some priests have contributed to marriage breakdowns. One priest (late ) used to sleep with a congregants wife until he was discovered through a letter he’d written to the woman. Luckily it was that time when we had the taint less De Jong, the priest was defroaked and got a job in the mines. But with our Zambian bishops, such priests are getting away with this scandal by being transferred to other parishes. One has changed parishes like underwear.
The Bishop is correct 100% on that one. Just from the beginning marriage is sacred ni kasata fye ekafilufyenye . Forget about human rights if Our creator hate divorce what are human rights over marriage. Human rights over marriage are way too low to be compared to. If I have injured someone over this one, my apologies but its a fact and truth.
It is ecclesiastical arrogance based out of ignorance.
Let me a bit personal, what happened between your sister and late Michael Sata?
useless comment, waste of space
Very related to the issue, unless you’re a numbskull you’ll not see the connection. Sata has children with the bishops sister yet he later married another woman but still continued to receive holy communion. This is contrary to catholic laws.
Zebige kikikikik ati Some priests tusangwa nabo mubuchende because of your restrictive laws and rules. Yaba Zambians
It is not the first time that Catholics have blessed the world with their ignorance. How reminiscent their apology to Galileo, more than three hundred years after they had condemned him as a heretic and slaughtered him in cold blood! Of what good was that?
You may hate Bishop Mpundu but what he has said is the Gospel Truth!!!
In the Bible,a man is only allowed to divorce the wife if she is caught commiting adultery-thats it!!!IF NOT,THEN A MAN CANNOT DIVORCE A WIFE!!! If a man divorces a wife on any other grounds,then he is just sining if he marries again.but if one partner dies,then the remaining one is free to marry someone who has never been in marriage.or a widow and widower are free to marry anytime.ANY OTHER SITUATIONS ARE NOT ALLOWED BY GOD!!!so one has to be very careful before marrying because if you marry a wrong partner then “NINSHI WA PAPA KALAMA!!!” Only death can set another person free-THIS IS WHAT GOD SAYS!!READ 1 CORINTHIANS 7:1……….DOWN!!!
NJIMBU BB 2017!!!
Yes that’s what the Bible tells us and it’s good because a stable marriage is a foundation of a stable nation. But when a marriage becomes violent, full of lies etc it’s better to dissolve it before a life is lost.
Njimbu, that is galu-ilume-mbuzi doctrine. It’s not only a woman to commit adultery what about if the man commits adultery. You know how our friends change girlfriends like socks-let’s not even forget you and me!! Let’s be fair here, 90% of adultery in marriages in Zambia is done by the menfolk.
I respect them for this stance, but They should work on their doctrine of “ever virgin mother”and the view that she is able to intercede for sinners. Its not in the Bible
To be honest I cannot blame the catholic church for saying what they said about courts dissolving marriages. We are the ones who go to the church so that our marriages are blessed in church but you find that when faced with problems some people rush to the courts. The church does not force us to have our marriages blessed in the House of God. My suggestion is: The courts should NEVER entertain those filing for divorce if the marriage was blessed in church until the church also really fails to reconcile the concerned couple. Those who avoid going to church and instead go to court when faced with problems simply show that, that marriage was not really founded on Christ but that someone masqueraded an angel by having their marriage blessed in church.There’s too much hypocrisy.
If you believe in divorce dont marry in church. Go and marry ku court chapwa. The catholic church has its own rules.
Current National statistics say catholics make 25% of all church going population in Zambia. The protestants make up almost 3 times that with a figure of 70% of the church going population. This declaration will affect the minority of this population as less and less Zambians get married in the catholic church. The courts represent Zambians from all walks of life as they are created by the supreme law of the land, The Constitution-are the catholics above the law?? The law of God allows divorce in circumstances of infidelity and adultery, don’t we see these adulterous acts every weekend at our clubs by both our male and female friends and colleagues?? So is the bishop in order not to recognise the laws of the land and of the Almighty God???
Fake statistics Catholics are about 40% of all Christians in Zambia.
Ask yourself, the compounds outnumber the ma yard badly!! Don’t you see the pentecostal churches on every corner in the compounds for example?? When was the last time you employed a catholic maid or gardener?? Those incidents with the troublesome pastors that are growing everyday, how many are catholic, hmm?????
I do agree with bishop Mpundu on this issue, as might know it is the children who suffer most if there is a divorce.
Children would like mum and dad be together as this is good for their proper care.
Divorce bring alot of uncertainty to their good up bringing and more misery in their living . Before people divorce should think of their children .
Married or not, a normal human being will still love and care for his or her children. Otherwise, children of married couples also suffer from neglect and a host of other ugly abuses. Our Lord said: “Moses allowed you due to the hardness of your hearts. Well, that “Hardness of our hearts” is still the issue. It is still the enigma. It is a sin problem.
Any wonder spousal killings are on the rise in Zambia! You cannot imprison two people in a sour relationship, till death do them part. What cure do Catholics have for unhappy and painful marriages?
The Clergy has also offered solution to the problem. Why condemn him. His message is misunderstood. It is aimed at preventing couples to rush to courts but instead find common ground. After long, if couples are Christians, Christian love should help them reconcile. The Bible is very clear, nothing impossible with God. With that the clergy is right.
If the company you want to work for stipulates that work hours are from 8 to 17 hours can you say you want to work from 11 to 20 hours? So when you make your promise that what God has Joined No one else can do otherwise, you have to live by that faith. Mpundu is right. No wonder the Catholic go to the extent of investigating somebody until they find the required data to enable them to carry out certain actions based on the Catholic faith/ belief. They do not just marry every Jim and Jack.
In this era of rampant GBV, people should be allowed to leave violent partners, including those they no longer love. People should be allowed to move on. Actually there is an increase in GBV because it is so difficulty for people to divorce even when it is clear the involved people no longer love each other. Move with time and let people move on and seek happiness in other people in different circumstances. This thing of also sharing property actually makes one partner lazy and always dependent on the other. wives should instead encourage their partners to assist them be better people through education, business etc while love still flourishes so that when the time for divorce comes they have some source of livelihood.
When he created them, he made them of opposite sex (ubwamba bwapusana) man and woman. God witnessed and ordained first marriage of the first pair of human beings Adam and Eve. We didn’t see marriage certificate there. I agree totally with God there’s no need of certificates from courts because the spirit it self does the witness as to who is genuinely marriage. But God allowed King Solomon to have multiple women. Solomon was the lucky guy.
Ba father, what if the man is always cheating, having kids out of marriage, sleeps out, and continues to abuse the wife Physically and mentally? Should she stay married?
Icupo icikokola it depends ne fyo mwafwayene. Nga ni mu bar ninshi no kupwila ni mu bar. Nga ni ku church ni ku church. Nga ni ku court ni ku court capwa. Mwikalile fye ukutalikana na pashili umulandu. Mwapangwa shani imwe mwe bantu kanshi? Bishop uyu apapena alasa.
Most interesting post here is from THE OBSERVER who signed himself NJIMBU BB2017
Lies have short legs
Even Jesus would disagree with the Bishop. There are guidelines in the bible for divorce.
Read the book “The Catholic Church and Broken Marriages” as it defines the full church’s position on the topic. Otherwise the Bishop seems to wish to introduce his own version of the Catholic Law.
Mwebantu sure ,when you say in this error,in this error….it means that even in this error we can accept homosexuality,contract marriages which needs to be renewed after a period of time,and all bad acts that God does not need to be happening to his people,please lets respect the sacrament of matrimony ichupo techabana iyooo check and consult before marring let it not be a secrete to you and you one to be only,so what the bishop is saying is the only truth that is what God designed the married
Priests and Pastors should also stop sleeping with single and married women. Priests should practice celibacy. These chancers are a big part of the problem. Besides, the church has been commercialized these days such that a grade 12 drop out can trek to a religious institution to learn some RE and how to speak in public. They then change their accent and start prophesying, this does not make sense at all. There is a lot of religious fundamentalism in this country due to poverty. This will only deepen misery and not break the poverty ratchet. Pray and work hard. Let us not simplify the word of God. People free your conscience. Starting point is simply obeying the 10 commandments period. Do you really need to pay some one to tell you not to steal of commit adultery?