According to the statement , Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu was born on 21st May, 1947. He was ordained priest for the Archdiocese of Kasama on 17th December, 1972. In 1987, Pope St. John Paul II appointed him Bishop of then Mbala-Mpika Catholic Diocese. He was then appointed coadjutor Archbishop of Lusaka in 2004 with the right of succession to replace the late Joseph Cardinal Mazombwe which he did in 2006.
Archbishop Mpundu was first elected ZEC President in 1993 when he served for two terms and left office in 1999. He was elected later in 2002 and served in that capacity until 2008. In 2014 and 2017 He was re-elected President of the now Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB).
He can now join politcs
He can run for Zambian president in 2021.
Good riddance upnd cadre….
He is guilty. He did the “final thing” obviously. Ubushimbe bulapesha!
Its sad that when some1 is vocal and tries 2 speak democratically he is said to be political. Can’t I just voice an opinion and not be a politician. Zambians please respect the bishop he has done a lot for this country just say thank you
THAT IS ALWAYS THE MENTALITY OF ZAMBIAN- JOINING POLITICS. ZAMBIANS STUP!DLY THINK THEY CAN ONLY SERVE THE PEOPLE AND THE NATION BY BEING A POLITICIAN. ZAMBIA NEEDS THE DANGOTE TYPE WHO CAN EFFECTIVELY AND ABUNDANTLY CONTRIBUTE NOT ONLY TO ZAMBIA’S ECONOMY BUT AFRICA AS A WHOLE. ALIKO DANGOTE IS ONE LIVING EXAMPLE OF MEN AND WOMEN AFRICA NEEDS. NOT THOSE WHO TAKE AWAY FROM POOR PEOPLE BY JOINING POLITICS AND GETTING PAID BY POOR PEOPLE. EVEN MPUNDU MAY BE RESIGNING JUST TO QUICKLY REAP FROM THE POOR BEFORE HE DIES.
Good. He has been a very divisive prelate. Now he can join NDC.
ONCE A FARTHER ALWAYS A FATHER……………….. !!!!!!
Enjoy your retirement, my archbishop.
Such a nice contribution 4 some1 that has upheld democracy.
#2, Vice president of NDC you mean? So Mr Kalaba all the top positions in NDC are passing by your nose?
He has been hammered by Rome. Catholic Church is not a joke. Now he can officially support UPND. We told him not to publicly support HH. Now u are alone crying.
Remember there was a comment here on how he had compromised his position. Sunday there a demonstration against his unexplained transfer of two priests at Chilenje catholic church.
That demonstration you are applauding is just a reflection of how conflict resolution has decayed in Zambia. People in Zambia now prioritise using physical means to resolve a problem as opposed to reasoning. If you have a different opinion with cadres, they will beat you. When soldiers are enlisted to assist in cholera control they start beating civilians. A few days ago CBU lecturers (intellectuals) physically locked their Vice Chancellor out of the office. We have heard about beatings in parliament. Etc etc.. let us use brain power and not physical strength, We are no longer in stone age
@Muntu please don’t compare the ordinary demonstrations to the one I have alluded to. First you don’t even know how the Bishop came to make this renunciation. The Bishop was replaced by the current Bishop of Ndola Dr Slick Banda and him was going to be some kind of administer in Lusaka Archdiocese. Within a few hours of this announcement he resigned. There’s been a lot of disquiet among the flock of Lusaka and only a person with vested interest would call the renunciation and demonstrations a mere coincidence. The Bishop has not been honest to himself and his flock.
@Ndanje Khakis, what the Catholics did on Sunday was not an ordinary demonstration, they marched and chanted songs into the middle of mass, disturbing prayers then they later locked the church. That is what cadres and hooligans do. I am sure the church has procedures for airing grievances. What the CBU lecturers did was not an ordinary demonstration, it was physical. As educated people, the lecturers are supposed to be aware of legal processes of removing and locking a boss, e.g. court injunctions, etc. The conclusion is that Cadre mentality has taken over Zambia. @Umuntu, you are spot on…
@atm: You are wrong and Mr. Khakis is just telling it as it is. Even the Daily Nation headline clearly says: “POPE REPLACES MPUNDU”. During the “dictatorship” nonsense, the Regional Nunciature seeked audience with the president to set the record straight as the Catholics and from then it was clear that the Pope/Catholics didn’t agree with Telesphore. After months of reflecting their position in the political situation of this country, they have decided to replace him. A big blow for hh and the upnd!!!
@atim. In the Catholic Church we all vow total obedience to the Bishop especially the priests. To see such a thing like what happened in Chilenje is not only abnormal but a real abomination. I am therefore not happy. My worry is that if what’s caused this is not controlled then we shall be a laughing stock.
I can see that both @Ndanje Khakis and @Zambian Citizen have adapted to cadre mentality.. so sad!
@ umuntu. ..just shows type of mentality. Anyone with a different opinion is cadre to you? I belong to Archbishop’ s church and I am not happy if my shepherd starts to get into controversy. In fact you’re the one who’s a cadre because you seem to rejoice at the siding of the bishop with HH. My stand is not political but has to do with the dignity of my church.
I agree with umuntu it is so sad that in a respected church you can sink so low and no1 can control this kind of behaviour. The church becomes a platform for social media and not communication. That’s why the Bishop has resigned because he has integrity and believes in discussion. He helped solved Zambias problemsproblems and put Catholics on the world map and you treat him like he is a mere nothing. Bring Banda and see what he does. Dont let petty things bring your church down. It has been at the helm in Zambia Dont destroy your own image
Awe @Ndanje you are now lost. @Umuntu did not talk about different opinions, he talked about people using physical means to resolve differences. Literacy !!!
@reader have read what he has written in 7.6? What does that mean to you? Maybe you’re not aware how people concerned have sighed with relief over the departure of the Bishop.
Good now he can join upnd or NDC!!Pope temunobe Mpundu!!!am sure the Pope saw how you tried to divide Zambians by supporting Kainde recently!!
Many thanks to the Pope!!
All those who supported Kainde in 2016 are becoming useless one by one,moves which favour Mighty PF!!
BRAVO ONCE MORE TO THE POPE FOR RETIRING THIS USELESS BISHOP MPUNDU!!
People can speculate kikikikiki. Anyway ignorance in any situation is very dangerous.
Goodbye.
The plot thickens.
When I first heard about this issue and the senility argument advanced for his removal (reinforced by the threat of a naked march protest, of course), I was almost persuaded to believe that the prelate was truly senile.
But senile at 70 years old? No, there had to be another reason.
LT you mean relinquish and not renounce. I wish him well. It’s difficult to start a new life when you retire at an advanced age like 70. I doubt if priests contribute to NAPSA?
They can’t contribute to NAPSA because they don’t have a salary. A retired Bishop will continue being cared for by the church….e.g. he will still stay in the premises provided by the church. He can only suffer if he’s defroaked. Even Frank Bwalya had the option of going back if he had not decided to resign from priesthood. The Bishop has only stepped down from his duties after being relegated to a mere administrator.
He started to support a Satanist and completely forgot that the Pope was following every move he was making.
Ichilema’ s manouvors to use Catholic’s top ranking fails.
there r few people who are brave like him. it is not the pope who dismissed him, but he retired on his on and the pope had no option but to choose another one. don’t bring politics into my church & never comment on something u don’t know & understand OK. proud catholic & bravo to you my bishop & indeed my pope.
He resigned after being replaced.
He remains an Archbishop and continues to celebrate mass. He hasn’t resigned because of the protests. He continue to live in the residence as retired except he wont be active. Its the Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI even himself same his now Archbishop Emeritus…..
He remains an Archbishop and continues to celebrate mass. He hasn’t resigned because of the protests. He continues to live in the residence as retired except he wont be active. Its like the Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI even himself same his now Archbishop Emeritus…..if it was because of protests the Pope would have refused to accept his resignation. But these are other reasons. If fact he was ordained a Bishop at a very young age of 40 about the youngest at the time. So it was time for him to retire. That job can be stressful.
At last, I can breathe a sigh of relief after learning that Archbishop Mpundu has retired from his Priesthood in the Catholic Church. This particular Archbishop was a dangerous CANCER in the Catholic Church. This is a noble Church that needs holy leadership by morally upright Men of God. I pray that is the beginning of many good things yet to come in this Nation this year 2018. May God bless Zambia.
@Mwansa Kabinga, get your facts right; the Archbishop has not retired from his Priesthood in the Catholic Church. He has gone on early retirement.
He’s still a priest and he’s free to accept invitations to celebrate mass.
Go join ….Zoipa Chitani Mulungu Azaweluza Church as deputy to hh. . . . .
The women power has worked. The women who were demonstrating said he would be dununa him and indeed he has been dununadi.
@trigo his renunciation or resignation was somehow out of frustration. The letter to appoint his replacement was written on 30th January 2018. The letter also stated he would remain in the position but hours later he resigned. Anyway to be a Catholic priest let alone a Bishop is not an easy job…one you’re just human but people expect you to be like God..no wife, not to lose temper and myriad of things that can be by God only.
But Frank just did that after quarreling with Bishop O’Reagan on Radio Icengelo. He gave himself sabatical leave soon after the program.
@Ndanje Khakis, with due respect my brother, I knew about the Archbishop wanting to go on early retirement more that six months ago.
@Panda thanks and I won’t argue.
The demonstrations have nothing to do with the Resignation. It’s just a mere coincidence. The issue has been in pipe line since last year. In the catholic church you just don’t just wake up ati I have resigned .. especially at his level. it was a thorough process which took more than 6 months. and the appointment of a successor is something also which goes through a rigorous process.
What goes up shall eventually come down, at times with a bang. Despite being a servant of the people he is retiring richer than the many of us.
@reader have you read what he says in 7.6? I don’t know what that means to you.