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| Group Photo for some of the participants |
Religious women and lay collaborators in the Catholic Diocese of Zomba have been equipped withreconciliation and restorative justice skills, thanks to United States-based Kenyan nun, Sr Mumbi Kigotha of the Congregation of Sisters of the Precious Blood.
Sister Mumbi, facilitated a one-week workshop for Religious women and some lay collaborators at Thondwe Pastoral Centre in the Diocese aimed at equipping pastoral workers with various skills on reconciliation and restorative justice.
Sister Mumbi said sometimes when injustices happen in the communities, people bring the issues to the attention of pastoral workers for their intervention and subsequent reconciliation, hence the need for them to be more familiar with the necessary steps to take when dealing with such cases.
“Many people look upon pastoral workers as trusted mediators because their voice is considered to have some moral authority. They can change the course of events, just by the advice they give,” continued sister Mumbi.
The Ohio-based nun said that today most societies are flooded with a number of petty injustice issues and most aggrieved parties opt to go to court or police to seek justice at the expense of involving Religious leaders in their communities who may give them spiritually-rich advice because the kind of justice that the legal system addresses is punitive.
She added that this way gives the accused a chance to explain why they did something which, at times, makes sense considering the desperate situation the accused was in at the material time. She said this way would also try to bring justice and reconciliation between the victim and the perpetrator.
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| Group discussions in progress |
Sister Mumbi disclosed that she has a special interest in women and children whose voices are rarely heard, especially in Africa. She then appealed to authorities to ensure that women’s and children’s voices are taken on board when formulating various policies.
In his remarks, the Judicial Vicar for the Diocese of Zomba, Fr. Macdonald Kankhono said the Diocese is grateful for the workshop, saying that it has come at a time when there are a lot of injustices happening in the communities where pastoral workers are also serving.
He said the Diocese will make all efforts to ensure that various structures of the Church are also enlightened about reconciliation and restorative justice to ensure that they are in unity with themselves, with others and most importantly, with God.