HH has driven govt, Catholic Church apart – Simuyemba
By Tony Nkhoma
HAKAINDE Hichilema has rocked the relationship between the State and the Catholic Church through his continuous and unjustified attacks on Archdiocese of Lusaka Archbishop Dr Alick Banda, Kaluba Simuyemba, the president of the Movement for Change and Equity (M4CE) has said.
Simuyemba said in line with the recent statement from the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB), Archbishop Banda now remained the only person that could restore the relationship between the Catholic Church in Zambia and Hichilema’s government.
ZCCB has accused the United Party for National Development (UPND) of waging a politically motivated war against the Catholic Church following the summoning and warning of the archbishop.
“Archbishop Banda is that one person who will change your (Hichilema’s) whole relationship with him, the catholic church and the entire populace of Zambia,” he said.
He told The Mast in an interview Hichilema’s continued attack on the Archbishop Banda was an attack on the entire Catholic Church in Zambia.
Simuyemba, who is also vice president of the People’s Pact Movement, said Hichilema would only see the good in Archbishop Banda once he changed his heart.
He said it was only through the eyes of love that Hichilema would be helped to see the good in other people such as Archbishop Banda.
“Change will come, and it will begin with the change of your heart, sir. If you ask him, God will give you a genuine appreciation of the Archbishop of Lusaka, Dr Alick Banda,” Simuyemba said addressing Hichilema.
He said it was disappointing that the government was promoting acts of disunity in the already fragile Zambian society.
Simuyemba said a good Church and state relationship was the only way to improve the living conditions of the people.
“We are of a considered view that the summoning of Archbishop Banda is ill-timed and a further act of continuing disunity and society. The relationship between the State and the Church is, for no other reason than, for the betterment of the welfare of the people who are at the centre of these two institutions,” he said.
The State and the Church had a moral obligation to dedicate themselves to the service of people of Zambia.
“By always acting in the best interest of the common good of the citizens, the church continues to guide the humiliation of the mediocre successive regimes to date,” Simuyemba said.
