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| Group Photo of the participant with Bishop Mulenga |
The Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC) has urged young Catholics to ignore calls by the world to redefine the original God’s plan for marriage and remain Catholics.
ZEC Bishop Director for Pastoral, Laity, EcumenismandInter-religious Rt.Rev.Clement Mulenga,SDB said this when he addressed 70 students from 20 Africans countries gathered for the 11th Pan African Conference for catholic Students in Lusaka, Zambia.
Bishop Mulenga who encouraged young men to have courage of marriage and within the Catholic Church expressed concern that God’s plan for marriage of man and woman is being changed to mean that even same sex can be in union as husband and wife.
“Young women are saying the young men in the Catholic Church are not courageous to marry them that’s why they are marrying from outside. Young men become courageous and take care of the family and stick to what it means to be a family” He said. “When the world says, man can marry fellow man or woman to woman as husband and wife, you should not do that” He added amid laughter from young students.
His Lordship the Bishop of Kabwe Diocese emphasised that the ideal marriage must consist of man and woman and called on young people to defend it.
Bishop Mulenga also said that the Catholic Church is losing its youths to other faith and churches especially in tertiary learning institutions. “We are losing young people to other doctrines especially Pentecostals but our concern is we do not have enough chaplains” He noted.
He added that the church is worried of such develop because if they are lost then the Catholic Church will not be in existence in the future as young people have great contribution to make to mother church. “Do not abandon your faith, try to do what it takes to defend it,” he appealed.
The 11th Pan African Conference for Catholic Students has been running in Lusaka from 4thto11th October, 2014. It attracted students and student chaplains from 20 African countries including Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia from AMECEA Region.
By Mwenya Mukuka, Communications officer ZEC