As the country celebrates the 50th anniversary of independence, the Catholic Church in Zambia celebrates and thank God for tremendous achievements the Church and the people of Zambia as a whole have attained over the years, says Fr. Cleophas Lungu, Secretary General to the Bishops Conference.
Speaking to AMECEA Online News from Lusaka, Fr. Lungu said that the Church has tremendously grown since independence time as well contributed a lot to the development of the country especially in pastoral ministry, education and health sectors.
“The church from 1891 has been proclaiming the Good News so much so that there is no part in Zambia which has no Catholic presence,” he said.
According to Fr. Lungu, the conference had very few priests at independence, more or less 50,but over the years the number has grown to over 500 local, diocesan priests. “At the time of independence we only had one or two bishop natives of Zambia; now we have a conference which we can proudly say is truly Zambian; all current bishops are Zambian citizens, some religious, others diocesan,” Fr. Lungu said adding that “We are proud of the growth in the Church.”
Fr. Lungu said that the contribution of the Church to areas of education and health are quite tremendous and a reason to celebrate and thank God. “Many Zambians have been educated up to university level because of the Church’s contribution to education sector; while the Catholic Church runs some of the best medical facilities in the country.”
“As Zambia Episcopal Conference we would like to extend the message of good will and congratulations to the Republic and the people of Zambia upon the attainment of this golden Jubilee,” Fr. Lungu said.
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| Fr. Cleophas Lungu, Secretary General ZEC |
He further said, “This is the moment when we look back and see the many good things that the Lord has done for us. We have enjoyed 50 years of peace, and of ethnic integration, there are more than 73 tribes in the country and yet we are living in relative peace and harmony.”
He said that over the years the country has witnessed transition from one government to the other, a sign that Zambia is growing; though not yet mature,democratically.
Fr. Lungu said that it is important for Zambian citizens especially those charged with various leadership responsibilities to take this momentum event to look back and see where as a country they could have done better for the good of all.
“Some of the areas where we may have wasted a number of years would be areas of coming up with the constitution that represents the aspirations of all Zambians. In other words a people driven constitution and establishing better public services for the good of all especially in health and education sectors,” he pointed out.
Source: Pamela Adinda, AMECEA Social Communications
