DEFIANT CHURCH SLAMMED

WE are extremely disappointed that some church mother bodies always want to be political on issues that are of national interest and shunned a dialogue meeting with the Government which was a platform to provide solutions to challenges the country was facing, Bishops Council of Zambia (BZC) has said.

And Northmead Assemblies of God Overseer, Bishop Joshua Banda said all churches that were invited should have come on board in order to iron out issues that have been affecting the country.

BCZ Secretary General, Bishop Kaela said he was dismayed with the trend by the Zambia Council for Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) who had continued to overlook national issues.

Bishop Kaela said the behavior of ZCCB was not helping the growth of the church in the country.

He said in an interview yesterday, the ZCCB always think they were superior to other church mother bodies in the country and they wanted to be respected which should not be condoned.

The clergy man said church mother bodies were supposed to work together in order to develop the church in the country unlike what was happening.

Meanwhile Bishop Banda said the only way to resolve issues that the country was facing was through dialogue, therefore, shunning such important meetings was not necessary.

Speaking in an interview on the sidelines of the dialogue meeting which was held by various religious mother bodies and Government on Thursday, Bishop Banda said the church must be there for Zambians especially when the country was faced with many challenges.

We are going towards elections next year, and as a church we need to play a critical role to ensure that peace prevailed in the country,” he said.

Religious mother bodies that attended the meeting include among others, Lusaka Muslim Society, Jewish Board of Elders, Bahai Faith, Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints, Hindi Association of Zambia, and the Apostolic Council of Churches.