“A call to integrity”

“A call to integrity”
Written by Editor

In a pastoral letter titled “A call to integrity”, the Catholic bishops of Zambia yesterday urged all Zambians to work for the common good of our nation.

The bishops made a number of observations on various aspects of our country’s political, social and economic life. Among other things, they observed that we seem, as a nation, to be in the midst of great uncertainty and that our nation, today, stands at the threshold of a looming crisis.

And that we face many challenges of governance and survival, among which are increasing poverty and the presence of abject poverty, a pervading cancer of corruption, spiraling job losses, economic disintegration, an education system that is failing and a constitution-making process that is still controversial and seems not to be in the interest of citizens. The bishops urged Zambians to examine their conscience, seek the truth and work towards bringing back hope to our people.
They also reminded the nation that in their post-electoral pastoral letter of November 9, 2008 they had referred to the tension, polarisation and divisions that were manifest in our nation. And yesterday, they stated that they note, with great concern, that this tension has now heightened rather than dissipated and the problem is now more serious than ever before.

Some politicians, especially those in the ruling MMD and its government, may tomorrow start asking questions and accusing the bishops of involving themselves in politics. And Rupiah Banda may tomorrow invite them to turn themselves into a political party and join politics instead of making political statements in the name of the Church. This will not be a new challenge from the MMD and its politicians. It’s all too common for them to say such things especially as the Church in our country becomes more actively involved in addressing the political, economic, social and other crises the people face.

We feel we have come to understand fully well the goals or objectives that our bishops are seeking in their pastoral letters. We have come to understand and appreciate the fact that our bishops are confidently saying what they are saying because their church has offered them a body of social wisdom, based ultimately on biblical principles that speak to the conditions of everyday life in our country. And their teachings contain not so much a specific platform of political action requiring them to turn themselves into a political party, but a dynamic framework for searching for relevant solutions to the challenges and problems facing our country and our people. And there is a very important theological foundation for what these bishops are saying. And they themselves put it more aptly in a quote they opened their pastoral letter with: “The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ” (The Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, Second Vatican Council # 1).

And as we have stated before, we are living at a time when politics has entered a near-religious sphere with regard to man and his behaviour. And we also believe that we have come to a time when the Church can enter the political sphere with regard to the material needs of its congregation. It also shouldn’t be forgotten that Christ’s entire doctrine was devoted to the humble, the poor; his doctrine was devoted to fighting against abuse, injustice, and the degradation of human beings.

We therefore urge all Zambians of goodwill to pay a lot of attention to what the bishops have said or are saying and heed the advice they are giving. There is no way we are going to create or establish a more just, fair and humane society without addressing the concerns the bishops have raised. What our bishops are saying are things rooted in a straight forward view of society, in the understanding that the individual does best in a strong and decent community of people with principles and standards and common aims and values. And those in government should always realise that although as leaders they lead or they are supposed to lead, in the end it is the people who govern – leaders lead, but in the end the people govern.

We need to make our nation one of tolerance and one that has an innate sense of fair play. Let us try to build a nation with pride in itself. But to do this, a spirit of tolerance is required so that each one of us can play our role.

What Rupiah showed last Thursday is a serious lack of a culture of tolerance and humility which places the humanity of others before self and accepts that all citizens have a right to participate in the shaping of their destiny directly without fear of reprisal. Intolerance must surely rank as one of the worst forms of immorality in human affairs. Over the weekend, we saw the horror of this in Rupiah’s cadres who went to beat up in Chipata a photojournalist from The Post. And we all know that this subculture of blood is nursed with speeches from Rupiah himself. And this was done by Rupiah at State House last Thursday.

It is quite true that acceptance of criticism implies the highest respect for human ideal, and that its denial suggests a conscious or unconscious lack of humanity on our part. And until we can allow our people the fullest and an incumbent expression in politics and other things, we are in danger of teaching them a very simplified version of this complex universe.

And this intolerance of Rupiah and his friends is today most targeted at The Post which he has vowed to close. But we don’t think it is fair for Rupiah to blame The Post for his problems. We don’t think it is fair to blame the press when someone makes a fool of himself in public. It may not be pleasant to see the truth but we can assure you that the alternative is virtue of slavery. Press freedom in this country does not exist so that we can freely praise Rupiah. It exists so that we can freely criticise our public officials. If a press is free, the facts cannot be concealed forever. While that is true, everything else is somehow correctible.

Rupiah’s sense of judgement is worrying us. He takes pride in closing a company that is a source of livelihood for more than 500 or more people. Instead of seeking to address the problems, if any, that a company is facing, Rupiah’s first instinct is to find ways of fixing those who manage the company and close it. He doesn’t care what happens to the rest of the people who work for that entity. This is a very destructive attitude. If Rupiah has problems with the editor of The Post, the solution is not to close the newspaper. Only a fool can think this is the right way to deal with things. A president of a country should rise above self but it seems Rupiah has problems seeing things beyond himself. Closing The Post does not only fix one individual, it does so much damage to so many people and to the country in general. It’s difficult to understand why an entire president of our country cannot see this.

Our hope is that our people realise and remember that for all the disquiet that can come from a free press, life without it would be much worse.

In a world of one-point political agendas and armies of spin doctors trying to tailor the truth, a free press has to be more vigilant, professional and courageous than ever before. It seems our politicians never learn that cover-ups can never be worse than the underline conduct. It is said that power corrupts, and there is nothing more corrupting than power exercised in secret.

As a newspaper, we have to stand up for what is right and not worry about what’s politically feasible. But we know very well that standing up for what is right isn’t always popular. And because of this, the glory of journalism is in its transience.

This reminds us what Colin Powell, the US former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of State, once said: “The most effective means of ensuring the government’s accountability to the people is an aggressive, free, challenging, untrusting press.”

Only a strong and secure democracy can guarantee the fullest and freest exchange of ideas, no matter how much those ideas hurt or incite. And what should not be forgotten is the fact that the right to express yourself is not something that is inherently part of being a journalist; it is part of being a human being.

Our bishops have made strong observations about the way the affairs of our country are being conducted. We may not agree with everything that they have said but let’s meditate on what they have said because to a very large extent, they demonstrate the tragedy of our people. What our bishops have said is an exact portrait of the distressing difficulties and challenges facing our people and our country today. So gloomy are the realities and prospects for the future viewed as a whole that they could generate pessimism and discouragement if we are not sure of our aims. They are an inevitably bitter pill to swallow, but if we are to face up to the realities, we first have to become aware of them. And history shows that no problem has ever been solved until it has become a tangible reality of which everyone is aware. The bishops are flashing the light on these problems and challenges that we face. Let’s look at them critically and examine our consciences and ask ourselves if this is the best way to conduct ourselves and the affairs of our country. If it is not, then we have a duty to change it.