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| Rev. Fr. Cleophas Lungu, ZEC Secretary General |
The Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC) has maintained that the Church does not want to meddle into partisan politics.
ZEC Secretary General, Father Cleophas Lungu, has, however, noted that one of the greatest contributions to the Zambian society in the past fifty years has been the prophetic and uncompromising pastoral letters issued by the Church in order to provide a voice of reason that calls a nation to order.
Speaking during the Caritas-Zambia media day in Lusaka, Fr. Lungu also noted that the Church will always endeavor to come to the aid of those who are living in abject poverty and are vulnerable through its works of mercy and charitable organizations.
Making reference to the early church, which he said was driven by missionaries and concentrated its energies on helping the poor through handouts, Fr. Lungu, said that as the missionaries have become fewer; the resources of the Church have also dwindled adding that charitable actions alone are not changing the situation.
Fr. Lungu explained that it is with such a background which forced the Church to start asking difficult questions such as, why, in spite of the charitable efforts by the Church, the plight of the poor was not changing.
He said that this led the Bishops to question some of the policies the different governments have been implementing, the negative attitudes in the Zambian society and eventually, the Church began to study more about the economic systems at play, the political processes, and the national budgets and the Church was well on the path to advocacy.
Meanwhile Father Lungu has said “the major contributions by the Catholic Church in Zambia have been in area of advocacy for good governance.”
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| Participants of Caritas Zambia Media Day Symposium |
He has further said that the Zambia Episcopal Conference strongly believe that merely scoring positive economic indicators is not what matters, but what matters is when such indicators are translated into better life for people who have a God given right to safe and clean water, good shelter, nutritious food as well as quality and affordable education and health services.
ZEC says the common denominator and mutual rallying point between the Church and the State is that both are concerned about the well-being of God’s people, the Zambians.
ZEC Secretary General said that the Church will always endeavor to be the voice of the voiceless. He indicated that the Catholic Church in Zambia has acquitted itself reasonably well without being complacent.
Caritas –Zambia Media Day was held on Thursday 9th July, 2015 at Kapingila house in Lusaka under the theme ZEC:“Promoting Integral Development, Justice and Peace in Zambia.”
Source: Mwenya Mukuka ZEC Communications Officer
