Church has sold its prophetic voice – Fr Phiri
By Adrian Mwanza
MOST church leaders in Zambia have been politically compromised and are failing to speak out against the injustices affecting ordinary citizens, Catholic priest Father Gladson Phiri has said.
Speaking in an interview with The Mast, Fr Phiri said the church had lost its prophetic voice on behalf of the poor because it had become politically divided, with too many church leaders aligning themselves with political parties rather than with the people they were called to serve.
“What we are seeing is a very unfortunate situation because most of the clergy are being handed brown envelopes, making it difficult for church leaders to speak on behalf of the people,” Fr Phiri said.
He said the church had a duty to speak out on issues affecting the people.
Fr Phiri expressed concern that the situation was different because most church leaders had allowed themselves to be compromised by political interests and personal interest.
He said the silence by the church on various issues of national interest was a betrayal of the people of Zambia whose trust had been taken for granted.
“The silence by the church means a lot, and many people may even assume that church leaders have been given brown envelopes to keep quiet about the many injustices taking place in the country. This is total betrayal of the public trust,” he said.
Fr Phiri said the church must be a mouthpiece for the poor and vulnerable who lack the capacity to speak out on issues that affect them.
He said the church had been quiet on issues of national importance such as the selective application of the rule of law, tribalism, nepotism, violence, corruption, bad governance and all forms of injustices going on in the nation.
Fr Phiri warned that if the church continued on the path of silence, the consequences were dire to the unity of the nation.
He said the church needed to remember that Vox populi, vox Dei ‘the voice of the people was the voice of God’ and that it should be careful not to lose sight of its responsibility.
“…the Latin phrase Acta non verba, meaning “deeds, not words”, the church must demonstrate its commitment through action rather than rhetoric. Vox populi, vox Dei, meaning ‘the voice of the people is the voice of God,’ so we as Christian leaders need to be very careful,” he said.
Fr Phiri said the church had a responsibility to ensure that the country did not descend into bloodshed before, during and after the forthcoming elections.
He challenged the church in Mongu to speak out and condemn the tribal and hate speech made by UPND Mongu Central aspiring Member of Parliament candidate Makai Makai.
Fr Phiri said inciting violence was a serious crime in Zambia and many people such as Munir Zulu and Maureen Mabonga were punished for it.
