Zambian Bishops launch Catholic TV

Paul Samasumo – Vatican City.

Bishop Moses Hamungole, the Bishop of Monze Diocese and Bishop-Director of Communications at the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB), made the announcement recently in the city of Lusaka.

Television broadacasts initially will be in the capital, Lusaka

“As a Catholic Church we strive to make sure that every corner (of the country) hears the Good News of Jesus Christ … on behalf of the Catholic Bishops in Zambia and indeed on my own behalf, (I) do hereby announce the start of test transmission of Lumen TV Zambia on the Topstar spectrum. You can now watch Lumen TV Zambia on Topstar, Channel 101,” said Bishop Hamungole.

Bishop Hamungole further said that the Catholic TV station would initially broadcast to Lusaka city before rolling out its signal to the rest of the country.

Relevant programming for evangelisation and development of Zambian society

“We hope that in due course and with your support, we shall begin full broadcasts that reach the entire country. Lumen TV Zambia, wholly owned and supported by the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops will promote human dignity. We hope that this TV can be self-sustaining with effective and relevant programmes for the integral evangelisation and development of Zambian society,” he said.

Zambians welcome the televison station

Catholics in Zambia have welcomed the television station and seemed to have high hopes for it.

Leading the sentiments, John Chola, a Zambian, said the news was long overdue and hoped that Zambians would now get unbiased information about their country and world at large from the nascent television.

In August, a workshop to induct prospective reporters for Lumen TV Zambia was held in Lusaka. Addressing participants, Catholic Media Services (CMS) Executive Director, Fr. Winfield Kunda said Catholic journalists needed to distinguish themselves through objective and balanced reporting.