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It’s sad the Church is compromised - Rev Masupa

It’s sad the Church is compromised - Rev Masupa
Written by Agness Changala and Mwila Chansa in Mufulira
Friday, October 16, 2009 2:31:58 AM

INDEPENDENT Churches of Zambia (ICZ) president Reverend David Masupa yesterday expressed sadness at how the Church has become compromised in Zambia.

In an interview, Rev Masupa said the church had become so compromised that it could not even differentiate between what was morally wrong or right.

“The bottom line is that Christianity must uphold the moral principles of the Bible which means where there's a wrong, there can be no right and it should be taken that way,” he said.

Rev Masupa urged the church to rise to the occasion and do what was right. He said the church should not sell its birthright of morality but instead must be advocates of morality.

Asked to comment on those who viewed the church as being political whenever they spoke for the poor, Rev Masupa said there was a thin line between politics and the church and therefore, the church could not be stopped to do so.

“What we must know is that there's a very thin line between politics and Christianity. Christians are advocates of justice and when they speak for the poor they should not be viewed that way,” he said.

Rev Masupa further said the church should give guidance on how to run the affairs of the country and not be the ones to be championing the very causes of injustice in society.

And the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) has said Zambia needs religious leaders that will truly speak for the poor and marginalised.

During the on-going capacity building workshop for constituents' and religious leaders on natural resources management held at Monalisa Motel in Mufulira yesterday, CCZ policy and advocacy advisor Evans Rubara observed that most African governments excluded their citizens when negotiating and signing contracts because of corruption and selfish ambitions.

Rubara said this situation required alert and fearless church leaders that would take the government to task and compel them to disclose the contents of their agreements.

And a Catholic priest from Kitwe, Fr Paul Matembo urged the clergy to work together and speak with one voice on issues of national interest.

Fr Matembo observed that in the past, the government had gone scot-free on issues they should have been taken to task for because the church had divided itself.

One of the participants predicted that very soon, church leaders would start opening their pulpits to politicians for the 2011 campaigns, forgetting their role of speaking for the voiceless.

The participant urged church leaders to change their mindsets and critically address issues by working closely with the media.

Another church leader, Reverend Moses Chilembo advised churches to first put their houses in order before they could start advocating for mining companies to publish what they paid.

Rev Chilembo said churches even failed to publish financial reports but it was important for them to be accountable before they could ask it of others.

Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) project officer - extractive industry and advocacy Mwiya Mwandawande said mining companies needed to start publishing tax payments to the government so that people know how much minerals were contributing to the country's development.

Mwandawande said a consortium of civil society organisations globally were prompted to come up with the “publish what you pay” concept because they realised that despite countries like Zambia having vast minerals that could help improve the country's socio-economic standing, the country was still underdeveloped.

He said despite efforts to promote transparency and accountability in the extractive industry and mining in particular, there was still greater corruption and poor governance.

Mwandawande said the “publish what you pay” initiative also wanted to ensure that mining companies did not just publish what they paid but that they also published how much they made.

Labels: DAVID MASUPA, RELIGION

posted by MrK @ 1:32 AM