Catholic Bishops of Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe to form an independent regional episcopal association
Paul Samasumo – Vatican City.
This week, Catholic Bishops of the three conferences moved even closer towards forming a new regional episcopal association.
It is an idea that has been brewing and talked about for years.
The three countries have historical and cultural ties. From 1953 to 1963, under British Colonial rule, they were united as one country, the Federation of Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland. The territory was also known as the Central African Federation (CAF).
Declaration of Intent - a bold new step
Towards the end of the meeting, the Bishops issued a formal Declaration of Intent, jointly signed by the three Conference Presidents: Malawi’s Archbishop George Desmond Tambala – ECM President, Zambia’s Archbishop Ignatius Chama – ZCCB President and Zimbabwe’s Bishop Paul Horan- ZCBC President.
“Given this bold step taken, the three conferences envision the formation of an independent Region. To this end, the Sub-region will adopt the principle of gradualism. There will be short term goals that will form the bedrock upon which at the opportune time long term goals will be achieved. There are no defined timeframes as to when the new region will be fully-fledged. The three Conferences commit themselves to presenting this project to their respective regional bodies namely IMBISA and AMECEA. The membership of which they will uphold until further notice,” the Bishops say in their Declaration of Intent.
The Bishops further approved the new association's statutes and operational guidelines and established mechanisms for incorporating other members outside the Subregion when requested.
The new Subregion's secretariat will be located in Lusaka, the Zambian capital. The next plenary assembly was scheduled for Zimbabwe in three years.
Build bridges, strengthen faith, unity and service
The Bishops stressed that the primary purpose of the consultative meeting in Malawi was to continue enhancing pastoral unity, proclamation of the Gospel and solidarity in the Subregion amidst shared challenges. The aim was to also build upon their 2020 Lusaka Conference.
The Apostolic Nuncio to Zambia and Malawi, Archbishop Gian Luca Perici, read Pope Francis’ goodwill message to the Bishops. The Bishops were met in Salima, a tourist resort on Lake Malawi.
Later, the Bishops recounted what Pope Francis expected of them as prelates in the region.
“The Holy Father, Pope Francis, through the Dicastery for Evangelization, stressed the need to continue ‘building bridges, strengthening faith, unity and service’ among the three countries in the Sub-Region. He sees it as a timely moment and worthwhile to discuss amidst the current challenges. For the Holy Father, ‘building bridges promotes an inclusive and systematic vision of the sustainable society that equally addresses social, economic and environmental issues.’ He called for the continued participation, unity, peace under divine guidance with the aim of promoting common good and dignity of all the people within the Sub-Region,” the prelates explained in their message.
President of the Republic of Malawi, Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, paid a courtesy call on the Bishops during their meeting. He commended them for continued pastoral care of God’s people through the Church’s socio-political engagements. President Chakwera also thanked the Subregion countries for supporting Malawi during crises.
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