At their full plenary session held at Kapingila House in Lusaka in early 2004, the Catholic Bishops of Zambia made very important pronouncements on key issues affecting people in Zambia today.  From my observation, it seems government is paying a blind eye to that.  The concerns of the Zambian Bishops are in fact the concerns of many people in Zambia because they are of public interest.

Before I go into these concerns I wish first of all to underline an important observation the Bishops made at their plenary meeting, and secondly, make an exegesis or interpretation of the origin and nature of the teaching of Catholic bishops.  The Zambian Bishops said the Catholic Church in Zambia has had a long history of partnership in development with successive Governments of the Republic of Zambia.  Our historical involvement in the fields of education, health and other development projects speaks volumes of our abiding solidarity with the people of Zambia.

This statement was made in appreciation of the call made by the Second Vatican Council which stated as follows: “The joy and hope, the grief and anguish, of the men and women of our time, especially those who are poor or afflicted in any way, are the joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well” (See Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes, 1).

Catholic bishops have the charism to teach in the name of Jesus Christ and to speak for the voiceless.  They  receive this teaching function in apostolic succession as successors of the Apostles following an ancient tradition that began in the 1st century AD when Christ founded the Church on the faith of the Apostles with primacy given to Simon Peter.

Since then, Catholic bishops have exercised this teaching function in communion with the successor of Peter, the bishop of Rome, currently Pope John Paul II.  The Pope is the symbol of the unity and universality of the Church uniting all Christians as one mystical body of Christ.  Catholic bishops assist the Pope in the Petrine ministry as authentic interpreters and defenders of sacred doctrine.  They are servants of Truth and custodians of the deposit of faith and sacred tradition, and their teaching is both prophetic and Christocentric.

BISHOPS AS PROPHETS

Bishops are prophets of our time.  In the Old Testament times, in Palestine, there were prophets who spoke in the name of God.  A prophet is one who has an insight into the divine will of God and possesses the power of inspired utterance.  These prophets spoke against the injustices and moral degradation in society and fearlessly challenged oppressive structures.  They defended the poor, the old, the widows, the orphans, the blind, and the prisoners against powerful, oppressive rulers and leaders in society.

Like the prophet Isaiah, many prophets were advocates of social justice and peace.  As prophets of social justice, bishops are the voice of the voiceless.  They are fathers of the poor and defenders of the oppressed.

THE MISSION OF CHRIST

The New Testament is the culmination of the Old Testament.  Jesus Christ fulfilled all the prophecies foretold in the Old Testament because he is the fullness of God’s self-communication.  Christ brought to fulfilment the Old Testament Law and the Prophets.  While maintaining the unity of his divine person of two natures: divine and human, the Son of God pitched his tent among us human beings and lived in his human form like all of us in all things except sin.  He preached the coming of the Kingdom of God, and his preaching was marked with authority.

Unlike the Pharisees, Christ preached compassion and forgiveness and love of God and our neighbour.  He associated himself with all kinds of people: from fishermen like Simon Peter and his brother Andrew, and James and his brother John to publicans and tax-collectors like Matthew and Zaccheaeus; from sinners like Mary Magdalene to holy people like Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha; from blind people like Bartimaeus to condemned prisoners.  He was actually crucified in the company of convicted prisoners!  Christ championed social justice and equality by the way he lived his life.

Before he ascended into heaven back to God the Father following his death and resurrection, Christ commissioned the Apostles to continue his divine mission of preaching the coming of God’s kingdom of justice and peace.  He constituted his Church on the faith of the Apostles when he sent down his gift of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles to give them the power to go out and proclaim     the    good news of Salvation.  They were to bear witness to his name in the whole world through martyrdom, heroic sacrifices and holy lives, and without fear to challenge the injustices in society and calling all men and women to do the greater good for God and for their fellow human beings.

Since then this mission has continued to be proclaimed through the ministry of the Church.  As successors of the apostles, bishops teach in the name of Christ.  Their teaching is centred on the preaching of Jesus Christ.  As messengers of Christ they have the mandate to break the word of God for all the people, with compassion and love, and to raise concerns when things are not going on well for the people.  The teaching of Catholic bishops, therefore, is a divine, apostolic mission, which is morally binding to all people of goodwill.

Let me now highlight some of the concerns of the Catholic Bishops of Zambia, which they raised at their meeting cited above.

ON POVERTY

The Zambian Bishops observed that poverty levels in Zambia have reached alarming proportions: A situation where 80% of our citizens have no means to make ends meet can only be described as a crisis.  We implore government to do everything possible to alleviate the suffering of our people.  A missionary once described the poverty situation in Zambia as a scandal.  It would be difficult to dispute such a statement given the great abundance of natural resources and economic potential of Zambia.

On the BBC country profile, Zambia is described as a country that has moved from being a major copper producer and potentially one of the continent's richest countries at independence in 1964 to one of the world's poorest.  The extent of poverty in Zambia is depressing.  To address poverty, the Zambian Bishops are calling on prioritising national expenditures that favour the poor.

PEOPLE IN PUBLIC LIFE

The Zambian Bishops observed with great concern and sadness the number of prominent people in public life, among whom are Christians who have been cited and implicated in corrupt practices.  Looking at the list of some of the prominent people who served and/or are still serving in public office or party positions who are currently facing serious corruption charges, one gets overwhelmed, if not suffocated, by the extent of corruption in Zambia.

Even some of the so-called foreign investors are now stripping mine assets on the Copperbelt with impunity like plunderers with immunity from corruption.  The case of the Kitwe-Kalulushi rail line which has been ripped up and slippers taken away (Times of Zambia, 4 June 2004) is a classical example of how Zambia is retrogressing instead of moving forward.  We are still recovering from the shock of the unbelievable daylight theft of the stripping of assets at former ZCCM Luanshya Division.  The death of Mansa Batteries is another example of what corruption can do.  Now they sell us batteries of inferior quality (from somewhere outside Zambia) which only last for a couple of hours.  Thereafter they start discharging a poisonous liquid, painfully reminding us that the quality of Mansa batteries (which were once produced by Zambians in Mansa) were too superior to some of the batteries coming from outside.

What makes the situation even more depressing is that this high level of corruption is happening in a country which was declared a Christian nation -- albeit without wide consultation (by the then head of state who is himself currently facing corruption charges).  Can such a declaration really be sustained?  Surely the credibility of the declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation has been undermined.  The conduct of many of our leaders and what they have done to many Zambians, from Shan'gombo to Mbala, from Chipata to Mansa, from Mongu to Kasama, does not in any way reflect Christian values.

The concern of the Zambian Bishops on the moral standing and conduct of public servants is therefore legitimate and is our own concern.  But, rather than condemning anyone of those accused of corruption, the Zambian Bishops apply their compassion, like Christ, by only stressing the need for more personal and spiritual formation for all our leaders.

As a Catholic Church, we commit ourselves to promote vigorously sound formation for all our people.  We implore all those in public life to remember that they hold these positions in trust; they are mere stewards on behalf of the nation and the people of Zambia.  We encourage the Task Force on corruption to be impartial in its work and unrelenting in ridding this country of corruption.

CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW

In their September 2003 Pastoral Letter Let My People Go, the Bishops raised pertinent issues regarding the constitution-making process.  They strongly recommended the constituent assembly as the popular mode of adopting the constitution.  The Bishops made the following observation:  most of our current problems in the nation stem from having a defective constitution.  We urge the government to address itself to the process so that the work of the Constitution Review Commission (CRC) does not come to nothing.  It seems, sadly, that the government has already determined their own favoured mode of adoption: Parliament.

As regards the mode of adoption, the argument by Catholic Centre for Development, Justice and Peace director Joseph Komakoma is worth noting.  He argues that if government will succeed in side-stepping the holding of a constituent assembly, then they must know that they would have side-stepped a democratic process.  Adoption of the constitution is not merely a matter of choice, it is a moral issue.  It is a moral issue in that if it is not done the right way, then the constitution that is produced at the end of the process would lack legitimacy.  Joseph Komakoma further argues that the reason why the Constitution of Zambia has always been subjected to the game of constitutional writing since independence is lack of legitimacy.

Contrary to government’s argument that adopting the constitution through a constituent assembly is too expensive, Joseph Komakoma says intelligently that it is in fact more expensive to keep reviewing the constitution every five years.  It would be cheaper to spend whatever billions of Kwacha necessary, to do it right, once and for all.  Using “manufactured” means of adoption only makes doing the exercise every five years.  So, let us mobilise the resources necessary to hold a constituent assembly now rather than later.

The reaction of government toward calls for a constituent assembly has been very disappointing and sad indeed.  I fear that as far as constitutional review is concerned we are still in the medieval ages.  The next constitution will still lack legitimacy if it is not adopted by a constituent assembly, and we will be condemned to repeat this process of constitutional review in the near future.

POLITICAL TOLERANCE

The political intolerance that we are beginning to see in Zambia is threatening the political stability and peace of this country.  This is of great concern to all of us because political tensions, if not resolved properly and maturely, can lead to factions which in turn could undermine the peace that Zambia has enjoyed since independence.

In their assessment of the political situation in Zambia, the Zambian Bishops called upon everyone to uphold peace and stability.  The Bishops said, political   intolerance  is a scourge that is again slowly gaining ground in our nation.  We call upon peace loving Zambians, political parties, and other stakeholders, to fight this evil.  Let us embrace peace even when we have political differences.

Our 40 years of existence as a fledgling democracy is just a tiny fraction compared to 20 centuries of the wise teaching of the Catholic Church.  Yet if we are resolved to hand on to our posterity a better Zambia than the one we live in today, we must take advantage and learn from the wisdom of the social teaching of the Catholic Bishops of Zambia.  We should take their concerns seriously because their teaching is always relevant to the signs of our time; their voice is loud and clear.  History and conscience will judge us harshly for failing to heed the voice of the voiceless.

David Chibanda, O.M.I.
Gregorian University
Rome

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