President of the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) Rt. Rev. George Lungu says some trends in Zambia today are worrisome and if left unchecked may force the country to sacrifice its treasured peace.
Bishop Lungu emphasized that such worrisome trends if left unchecked may force the country to sacrifice the treasured peace at the altar of expedience with obvious results of continued discord and lack of progress in the pursuit of common good.
“It is morally unacceptable to allow certain trends to go on while we remain watching and waiting from our comfort zones. This workshop is no doubt a manifestation of that desire to do something about our situation. A time to take note of the silent cries of our people,” said Bishop Lungu.
The ZCCB President further said that the Church may take pride as a voice of the voiceless, the conscience of the nation, yet if the voice of the Church at certain critical times goes silent for whatever reason, that is failure on its mission.
He noted that the Church must [remain] true to its identity as ambassadors of Christ and effective promoters and mediators of peace.
Rt. Rev. Lungu has since hoped that with the prompting and guidance of the Holy Spirit, the workshop will bring about genuine peace and reconciliation in Zambia.
Bishop Lungu said this when he opened a ZCCB Peacebuilding workshop in Lusaka on Wednesday 11th November, 2020 under the theme: Towards a Peaceful Zambia-The role of the Church.
The two-day workshop held at Kapingila house, in Lusaka Zambia which aims at raising awareness as key pastoral agents to be true and effective promoters and mediators of peace in Zambia has attracted 44 participants from all Catholic Dioceses of Zambia.
The participants include Bishops, Pastoral Coordinators, Communication Secretaries, Caritas and Social Program Directors and members of the Catholic Secretariat Management team.
And speaking in his presentation, Bishop Evans Chinyemba of Mongu urged Christians to conduct interdenominational prayer meeting on peace.
Ba Bishop do not alarm the nation unneccesarily. Which trends are you talking about? Give us some examples . Just opening your mouth loudly without fact is what causes problems. A peace builder is not a rumour monger.
After what the Catholic Church did in the Rwanda Genocide…. they should be the last to talk about peace building. Who can trust them after triggering that sensless killing of innocent people. GOD help us.
Zambia has had peace since independence in 1964 and every successive government has maintained that peace under the motto “One Zambia One Nation. That highly cherished Zambian peace is now in 2020/2021 under threat. We have a government in place and its ironical that its abdicating its responsibility and apportioning blame to innocent citizens and in some circumstances victimising and humiliating its own citizens. This has been exemplified in recent events where police have been left helpless to enforce law and order because party cadres are viewed superior to party cadres engaged in criminal acts. Police has been infiltrated by party cadreism championing the cause of party politics. Party cadres have caused violence while law enforcement personnel watch. These lapses in law and order…
50 people were recently killed by so called muslim fanatics in Mozambique which is neighbours Zambia, too many Zambians have converted to Islam and also there have been erecting Mosques in Zambia at enormous speed, it will not be too long before we start witnessing massacres in Zambia, there have a reason to start worriying
The church is a total failure in this country. 90% of Zambians are christians and the church has a platform every sunday to preach messages of peace to its so called flock. But the message is so hopeless that the members just ignore it. For Example : Mumbi Phiri and Chishimba Kambwili are all catholics and they go to church every sunday. But when the leave church why do they have to trade insullts in public? Also HH and Chitotela are all SDAs and go to church eveyr saturday but after church they will trade insults. HH is a church elder but in Kasama he was pronouncing insults publicly. Tayali and GBM are catholics…..remember the insults showered by GBM on his fellow church member?
Where is the church message and is it of any positve influence on its members? The answer in…
When Catholics endorse a president, they win. They just endorsed HH.
Thank God PF didn’t go a year has them in their workshop.
More examples of a failed church as a peace builder: Nevers Mumba and Felix Mutati are strong Christians …Why should they bedragging each other to courts in the most embarrasing manner?
Nevers Mumba is a prophesed man of GOD…..how can a top man of God sanction the beating and dragging in the streets of Major Kachingwe in the way it was done?
Where is the church and its preaching?
The Church should focus on the things of God and not the affairs of men.
Matthew 16
23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
If you listen to the rantings of retired Bishop Tresphore Mpundu you will note that the popes representative is so annoyed that you wonder message of peace he is preaching.
Most of the cadres ( Whether , upnd, NDC etc) go to church on sunday but look at what happens when they are out of church….its blows , insults , pangas and stones. What happens to the preaching by the deacons, evangelists, prophets , men of GOD and priests? Is the preachinng effective or the church is irrelevant?
FOLLOWING COMMENTS RESERVED
Under lungu, More than 50 innocent civilians were killed as a result of the gassing campains by PF , for the first time in our history , Zambians were being burned alive in our towns………by fellow Zambians…..
And this lungu has never updated the nation.
There are worse things to come…..
Going round circles. Tell us exactly what wrong the Zambian government has committed so that it is corrected. As far as I am concerned, we are living in a peaceful and democratic country were even a government sponsored bill can fail to pass through parliament.
I agree, the church is hopelessly irrelevant in peace building.
I am not surprised that Mwanawas a strong peace maker was not a christian. He was only influenced by his wife. A jehovas Witness.
Worrying trends that could lead to loss of peace are a matter of concern to every informed citizen of this Republic. I hope the clerics will discuss them openly and frankly. These trends include Zambia being worringly close to becoming a failed state.
,3 were recently murdered in France inside a Catholic church
Religious fanaticism is always a danger to peace. Zambia is country or has been a country where there has been freedom of religion and also freedom from religion for those who want to live without religion. Both rights are under threat now.
Is this the same Catholic Church whose Holy father has endorsed Homosexuality and Lesbianism? Ba Katolika bena awe mwee! !!! One arch bishop in America has confessed to abusing alter boys and young seminarians .
Lesbianism and homosexuality may be horrifying but they don’t threaten peace. Catholics here are talking about threats to peace. Individual deviants are there in all religions.