Catholic News 2
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- An environmental group on Wednesday accused three major TV manufacturers of misleading consumers and regulators about how much energy high-definition screens devour, alleging that the televisions were designed to perform more efficiently during government testing than in ordinary use....
JERUSALEM (AP) -- The charred lump of a 2,000-year-old scroll sat in an Israeli archaeologist's storeroom for decades, too brittle to open. Now, new imaging technology has revealed what was written inside: the earliest evidence of a biblical text in its standardized form....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The latest on the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting, which ended at 2 p.m. with the release of a policy statement, followed by a news conference by Chair Janet Yellen (all times are Eastern):...
NEW YORK (AP) -- Setting aside years of tensions, President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bid each other farewell Wednesday with a strident affirmation of security ties between their nations and little public talk of their persistent differences over Iran, Israeli settlements and the Palestinians....
BEIRUT (AP) -- An airstrike in northern Syria killed four medics responding to an earlier bombing raid, a relief group said Wednesday, as the U.N. announced it would resume aid deliveries suspended after an attack on a convoy two days ago that killed 20 people....
BEIRUT (AP) -- The Latest on Syria's conflict (all times local):...
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton decried a fresh round of police-involved shootings on Wednesday, with the Republican nominee saying he was "very troubled" by the killing of a black man by a white police officer in Oklahoma....
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Police officers gave a black man multiple warnings to drop a handgun before one of the officers opened fire and killed him, Charlotte's police chief said Wednesday, hours after protesters and police clashed in unrest that saw tractor-trailers looted and set on fire....
The Miao diocese in Arunachal Pradesh organized an inter-religious peace rally in Neotan village, in response to Pope Francis' call to pray for peace on September 20. Of late, the world has witnessed an unprecedented violence and mindless killings by religious fundamentalists, said Father Felix Anthony inaugurating the candle-lit peace rally in Neotan village, in which around three hundred people participated. The world is in need of peace now more than ever. We see pain and blood shed all around in the name of religion, he added.The Head Monk at Buddhist Monastery in Miao, Venerable Narinda Bhikkhu Mahathero, attending the event highlighted the need of peace in the world at the moment. “Amidst growing religious intolerance in India and all around, this inter-religious peace rally is a great step to promote mutual respect and peace among the people of all faiths”, said the Monk.Mr. Thiksal Morang, former Deputy Director of School Education (DDSE) Changl...
The Miao diocese in Arunachal Pradesh organized an inter-religious peace rally in Neotan village, in response to Pope Francis' call to pray for peace on September 20.
Of late, the world has witnessed an unprecedented violence and mindless killings by religious fundamentalists, said Father Felix Anthony inaugurating the candle-lit peace rally in Neotan village, in which around three hundred people participated. The world is in need of peace now more than ever. We see pain and blood shed all around in the name of religion, he added.
The Head Monk at Buddhist Monastery in Miao, Venerable Narinda Bhikkhu Mahathero, attending the event highlighted the need of peace in the world at the moment. “Amidst growing religious intolerance in India and all around, this inter-religious peace rally is a great step to promote mutual respect and peace among the people of all faiths”, said the Monk.
Mr. Thiksal Morang, former Deputy Director of School Education (DDSE) Changlang District, representing the Tangsa Baptist Church Association in Arunachal Pradesh, invited all to be messengers of peace. “A peaceful society is a responsibility of all. All of us must strive to establish a harmonious society”, said the former DDSE.
“Our peace initiative does not end with this rally. It only begins now. We should work to promote peace in our society, in our own little way, to make the world a peaceful place to live in”, said Fr. Felix at the conclusion of the rally.
During prayer the people also remembered and prayed for the Army Jawans who lost their lives this week, in the terrorist attack at Uri in Jammu and Kashmir.
The world is wounded and needs healing. Peace is the balm that the world needs, Mrs. Dangnai Mossang, a local public leader from Miao, said while closing the peace rally.
Responding to the Pope’s invitation Bishop George Pallipparambil, the Bishop of Miao in Eastern Arunachal Pradesh had called on all Parishes, schools and institutions in the Diocese to observe this day of prayer with inter-religious meetings, peace rally and special prayer for peace.
The theme of the 3 day international meeting this year was ‘Thirst for Peace, Religions and Cultures in Dialogue’. Pope Francis was present for the closing of the interreligious World Day of Prayer for Peace and conveyed his message and prayed for peace with the leaders of other religions.
This year marked the 30th anniversary of the First World Day of Prayer for Peace that St. John Paul II convened back in 1986. It was a historic event which saw world leaders of different religions come together for the very first time to pray for peace.
The Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) together with leaders of the umbrella body of Protestant Churches, the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) have vehemently opposed the establishment of a new government ministry to be known as the Ministry of National Guidance and Religious Affairs.Opposing the government's move, the two Church bodies said they found the creation of a new ministry of religious affairs unnecessary and imprudent.“In view of the various financial and economic challenges our country is currently facing, we neither see the creation of the said ministry as a top priority nor a prudent decision. After all, we believe that Zambians want their country to be a democracy rather than a theocracy,” the statement reads in part. On these grounds, CCZ and ZCCB stand opposed to the creation of the new ministryZambian President Edgar Chagwa Lungu, last week appointed Reverand Godfridah Sumaili, a Pentecostal pastor of Lusaka’s Bread of Life Chur...
The Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) together with leaders of the umbrella body of Protestant Churches, the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) have vehemently opposed the establishment of a new government ministry to be known as the Ministry of National Guidance and Religious Affairs.
Opposing the government's move, the two Church bodies said they found the creation of a new ministry of religious affairs unnecessary and imprudent.
“In view of the various financial and economic challenges our country is currently facing, we neither see the creation of the said ministry as a top priority nor a prudent decision. After all, we believe that Zambians want their country to be a democracy rather than a theocracy,” the statement reads in part. On these grounds, CCZ and ZCCB stand opposed to the creation of the new ministry
Zambian President Edgar Chagwa Lungu, last week appointed Reverand Godfridah Sumaili, a Pentecostal pastor of Lusaka’s Bread of Life Church as the new head of the ministry of religious affairs. Sumaili was subsequently nominated Member of Parliament, by Lungu. The Zambian parliament still has to ratify the appointment and the creation of the new ministry. Observers in Lusaka seemed to regard the ratification as a formality.
Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) Executive Director, Reverend Pukuta Mwanza, on behalf of Pentecostal Churches, last month, praised President Lungu’s initiative saying it would “promote Christian values and give more meaning to the declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation.”
On 4 September, while visiting State Lodge’s Divine Mercy Catholic Parish, in Lusaka, President Lungu told parishioners that the Church in Zambia should not be threatened by the creation of the ministry of religious affairs. He said the ministry would harmonise State-Church Relations.
Former President Frederick Chiluba in 1997 established the Religious Affairs desk with Rev. Peter Chintala as Deputy Minister at Statehouse. The religious desk suffered because of unclear terms of reference and its inability to garner support and consensus from Churches. Eventually, it was quietly phased out.
(Fr. Paul Samasumo, Vatican Radio)
Email: engafrica@vatiradio.va
Find below the full statement of the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) and the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB).
A STATEMENT ON THE POSITION OF THE COUNCIL OF CHURCHES IN ZAMBIA (CCZ) AND THE ZAMBIA CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS (ZCCB) ON THE PROPOSED CREATION OF THE MINISTRY OF NATIONAL GUIDANCE AND RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS
Dear brothers and sisters, fellow citizens, the people of God. As leaders of the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) and the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB), formerly ZEC, we hereby wish to state our position with regard to the proposed creation of the Ministry for National Guidance and Religious Affairs.
Firstly, we believe that the common denominator and our mutual rallying point between the Church and the State is that we are both concerned about the common good and the well-being of God’s people. As such, we see the need for the two to trust each other, engage in genuine dialogue and work as partners in promoting the development of its peoples, especially the poor. This requires sustaining a healthy Church-State relationship, with the Government not favouring only those groups that praise every decision it makes and every plan it follows. On our part, we shall continue to be non-partisan and respectful while playing a vital role of being a voice of conscience calling a nation to order, especially in the aftermath of the 2016 general elections that have incurred on our people scars of violence, division, tribalism and hatred. 2
Secondly, and notwithstanding our readiness to collaborate with the government of the day in our common pursuit for national development, our position is that the Church and State should be and continue to remain separate. In view of the various financial and economic challenges our country is currently facing, we neither see the creation of the said ministry as a top priority nor a prudent decision. After-all, we believe that Zambians want their country to be a democracy rather than a theocracy. Not only that, we believe that as churches and other faith communities, we have thus far been able to exercise our God-given mandate and meaningfully contribute towards national development without having such a ministry. Therefore, both CCZ and ZCCB stand opposed to the creation of the above mentioned ministry.
Thirdly, we stand by the biblical principle as clearly taught by our Lord Jesus Christ, who declared: "Well, then, give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God" (Mark 12:17). Again, our Lord and founder defined our prophetic mandate when he proclaimed: “The spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour” (Luke 4:18; Cf. Isaiah 61:1-2). In other words, the Church derives its authority, mission and structure from God and this must not be confused with temporal order of political governance.
Fourthly, we take this opportunity to reassure our membership that, we the said Church Mother Bodies, will not be intimidated in exercising our God-given mission of being the conscience of the nation and exercising our prophetic ministry of calling for social justice following the example of our Founder, Jesus Christ. At the same time, we commit ourselves to continue being credible and reliable instruments for promoting a culture of dialogue, reconciliation, justice, unity, development, respect for divergent views and peace in Zambia.
May God bless you all and bless our nation Zambia
Signed on 19th September 2016
Most Rev. T-G Mpundu, ZCCB President
Rev. Dr. Alfred Kalembo, CCZ President
