A Zambian priest said the nation's information minister should resign for accusing the Catholic Church of complicity in the 1994 Rwandan genocide and comparing it to the current situation in Zambia. Father Augustine Mwewa, the Ndola Diocese's treasurer general, said Aug. 10 that the minister, Lt. Gen. Ronnie Shikapwasha, was wrong to tell the Zambian Parliament that events leading to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda should serve as an example for Zambia. "He has shown us how shallow he (is)," Father Mwewa said. "He does not deserve to be where he is." Shikapwasha made his remarks during an Aug. 7 report to Parliament on recent acts of violence against journalists. The violence allegedly was perpetrated by supporters of the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy. The minister accused the church of promoting violence by siding with the media and opposition parties in criticizing the government. The minister's comments came after the Zambian bishops' conference challenged the government of President Rupiah Banda to stop persecuting and harassing journalists and media that disagree with it.
Priest urges Zambian Official to Resign
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
Pope Francis prayed that the Jubilee Year may become “a season of hope” and reconciliation in a world at war and suffering humanitarian crises as he opened the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve.
‘If God can visit us, even when our hearts seem like a lowly manger, we can truly say: Hope is not dead; hope is alive and it embraces our lives forever!’
Inspired by his friend and mentor Henri Nouwen, Metropolitan Borys Gudziak, leader of Ukrainian Catholics in the U.S., invites listeners in his Christmas Eve homily to approach the manger with renewed awe and openness.
A Homily for the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, by Father Terrance Klein