Maravi

Shikapwasha’s remarks annoy Catholic Church

Shikapwasha’s remarks annoy Catholic Church
Written by George Chellah in Lusaka and Mutuna Chanda in Kitwe
Sunday, August 09, 2009 9:28:32 PM

ZAMBIA Episcopal Conference (ZEC) spokesperson Fr Paul Samasumo yesterday said information minister Lieutenant Gen-eral Ronnie Shika-pwasha's remarks in Parliament are quite upsetting to many Catholics. Commenting on Lt Gen Shikapwasha's ministerial statement to Parliament on Friday where he attacked the Catholic Church, Fr Samasumo expressed displeasure with the minister's remarks on the church.

"You know on the Rwanda issue, the minister of information and some ministers have been throwing this Rwanda issue for some time now," Fr Samasumo said. "Really it's quite upsetting for many Catholics to say they are murderers who would engage in genocide and to imply that something like that is happening in Zambia."

He said Lt Gen Shikapwasha's remarks were unfair to Catholics and the leadership of the Catholic Church in Zambia.

"The Catholic has not shied away from that... that there were some priests and nuns who took part and they have been jailed for these crimes. You can't say Catholics stand for that," Fr Samasumo said.

He said the Catholic Church through the acting ZEC president Bishop Noel O'Regan would lodge a formal complaint to Lt Gen Shikapwasha over his remarks.

"I know that the acting president is going to write to the minister about that. Bishop O'regan is the acting president because Bishop Lungu is in Rome," he said.

He said Catholics were people who promoted peace and love wherever they were.

Fr Samasumo said the Catholic Church had no desire to be kingmakers or to take anyone into government.

"We don't have a capacity to put a preferred candidate in State House. We are non-partisan," he said.

Fr Samasumo said the Catholic Church could not be seen as if they hated the government.

"...Because some of the people in government are Catholics, they are our people. We would like to support the good things that government is doing, we are partners with the government," Fr Samasumo said. "We are guided by the Church's social teachings anchored on the gospel. Our media is not attacking government, every day they are doing a lot of good work."

And former Radio Icengelo station manager Fr Frank Bwalya asked Lt Gen Shikapwasha to blame his government for its ineptitude, corruption and thieving and not the Catholic Church.

Fr Bwalya said it was the MMD administration that was instead perpetuating 'genocide' in Zambia through the deaths of Zambians owing to maladministration.

"Zambians know that genocide in this country has been perpetuated by the MMD," Fr Bwalya said. "They are the ones by their incompetence and corruption who made that woman who gave birth outside the hospital to suffer the way she did; they are the ones whose President has ignored the death of that innocent baby and instead concentrated on imagined pornography; they are the ones who caused the death of many of our people when nurses and other health workers went on strike. They continue to be the ones perpetuating 'genocide' through the death of our people due to hunger, lack of medicines in hospitals and general frustration."

He said the voice of Zambians had been very clear that the MMD had become a danger to the country given the manner in which they had mismanaged public affairs.

"The utterances of Gen Shikapwasha should be dismissed as cheap propaganda emanating from a government that has woken up to the rude reality that people don't want them," he said. "So the utterances of Mr Shikapwasha representing the corrupt government of Mr Rupiah Banda are kicks of a dying horse. The last kicks of a dying horse of course seem powerful and more violent, but they are the last ones and they don't achieve anything. So Zambians should stand back to avoid being hurt by the rubbish that people like Gen Shikapwasha are throwing at their perceived enemies."

Fr Bwalya called on Christians to pray for Zambia's liberation from the current maladministration which he said had clearly become a danger to the country's social and economic development.

On Friday, Lt Gen Shikapwasha said the Church was busy trying to jostle for who they should put into State House, forgetting their mandate.

Lt Gen Shikapwasha said the church in Rwanda took sides with newspapers and radio stations, which were fanning out falsehoods and propaganda that led to the genocide.

"The church blindly took sides in opposing camps such that it is reported, Mr Speaker that 'after a century of Christian proselytisation the country was catholicized but not Christianized. Ritual was generally followed but the spirit was missing. This became tragically evident for the church, only after April to May 1994 when its people slaughtered their brethren wholesale inside the churches on orders from civil authorities and priests. This, Mr Speaker, is because the church took sides with men. The church must take sides with God," Lt Gen Shikapwasha said. "I see that the church in Zambia is taking sides with man rather than taking sides with God. We see the church in Zambia taking no stand against the things that God abhors. Where is the church when the newspaper is insulting the head of state? Where is the church when young men are insulting old men? Is it not the church to reconcile God's people in the country? The church is busy with trying to jostle for who they should put into State House, forgetting their mandate. Others are dishing out second hand clothing in the campaign for the pact. Others feel if a person does not belong to a certain political party, they are not Christian enough. Mr Speaker, all this used to happen in Rwanda before the genocide.

"The church failed in Rwanda, 25 priests have so far been imprisoned for genocide. The church in Zambia must learn from the lessons in Rwanda, the Spirit of God must rule in the lives of people. If there is any pact, that one should be packeted with it is Jesus. Therefore, my appeal to the church through you Mr Speaker and through this August House is seek ye first the Kingdom of God and Zambia shall be saved from calamities."

Labels: CATHOLIC CHURCH, RONNIE SHIKAPWASHA, RWANDA

posted by MrK @ 8:29 PM