Listen to people- Catholic Bishops

THE Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) has called on Government to strive and endeavour to drastically reduce the ever-increasing gap between the rich and the poor by addressing the high cost of living for all Zambians.

And the ZCCB says it is alarming and shameful for the country to have recorded more than 31, 000 divorces in the courts of law in the year 2022 and this is a sign of moral decay in societies.
Fr. Francis Mukosa, the ZCCB general secretary has called on the country’s leadership to heed the cries of the poor and less privileged in society by ensuring that the wealth God has blessed the country is equitably shared among citizens.
In his 2023 Lenten message, Fr Mukosa said for the country to find a lasting solution to its economic quagmire, all stakeholders were expected to play their role in an honest and passionate manner.
Fr. Mukosa has said that this Lenten season, the government should heed and listen to the cries of the poor and all less privileged persons because they were the most vulnerable to economic disorders.
“In practical terms, this entails that all the wealth that God has blessed this country with have to be shared equitably among citizens, the gap between the rich and the poor drastically reduced, the high cost of living worked on and the standard of living for all Zambians lifted.
In order for the nation to find a lasting solution to its economic quagmire all stakeholders are expected to play their role in an honest and passionate manner,” Fr. Mukosa said. Fr. Mukosa has called every leadership and every system of governance to promote common good so as to alleviate the suffering of the less privileged.
And Fr. Mukosa, says moral decay is a reality and that it is alarming and shameful for the country to have recorded more than 31, 000 divorces in the courts of law last year and this is a sign of moral decay in societies. He said it had been established that one of the major causes of family breakdown in Zambia was lack of proper communication among couples.
He has advised that couples should begin to abstain from getting glued to television sets and mobile phones so that they could have time to communicate and listen to each other as well as engage in communal prayers.
Lent is the Christian season of spiritual preparation before Easter for which the faithful dedicate specific time to prayer, fasting and almsgiving. “It is common knowledge today among Zambians that moral decay is a reality and a serious national concern. Thus, Lenten period understood as a time for repentance and conversion can be a privileged moment for the nation to uphold national values and principles. This calls for concerted efforts in bringing about change of mindset and behaviour,” Fr. Mukosa said.
Fr. Mukosa has called all to observe lent as a moment of deep and thoughtful conversations especially among family members.
“It is alarming and shameful to record more than 31, 000 divorce cases in the courts of law in 2022. It has also been established that one of the major causes of family breakdown in Zambia is lack of proper communication.
Therefore, abstaining from gluing to the TV screen or mobile phones as a form of fasting can actually help families to have time to listen to each other and engage in communal prayers,” he said.