Zambian Catholic Diocese Declines State Officials’ Donations, Cites Need to “uphold impartiality, ecclesial integrity”

Mansa, 06 June, 2025 / 10:47 PM

Zambia’s Catholic Diocese of Mansa has declined donations from the country’s government officials, citing the need to uphold the Episcopal See’s impartial status and Church integrity among reasons behind the decision.

In a Wednesday, June 3 letter posted on Facebook on June 4, the Vicar General of Mansa Diocese, who seeks to set the record straight says the May 31 fundraising event in Samfya was realized “without the consent or blessing” of the Local Ordinary, Bishop Patrick Chilekwa Chisanga.

The fundraising event that “was reportedly conducted in preparation for the 120th anniversary celebration since the establishment of the first Catholic Mission station at Lubwe” scheduled for June 28 had “partisan political overtones in its organization,” Fr. Felix Chifumbe states.

Aware of the reported active participation of Zambian political leaders, Bishop Chisanga “expressly advised the Parish Priest against proceeding with the fundraising event until clarity was provided,” according to Fr. Chifumbe.

True to Bishop Chisanga’s concerns, the Vicar General says, during the May 31 event, “it was publicly announced” that Zambia’s President, Hakainde Hichilema, had pledged to give K800,000 (US$30,693.00) towards the June 28 anniversary celebrations.

Additionally, Zambia’s Minister of Livestock and Fisheries, Engineer Peter Kapala, who was the guest of honour at the May 31 event and is an aspiring candidate for a parliamentary seat on United Party for National Development (UPND) pledged to donate “200 bags of 25 kg mealie meal and two cows.”

The Catholic Diocese of Mansa “will not accept the aforementioned donations,” the Vicar General says, and explains that while the Catholic Church “values acts of generosity and goodwill,” accepting the President’s money and the Minister’s in-kind contributions would compromise the Episcopal See’s “pastoral responsibility and ecclesial integrity”.

The decision to decline the government officials’ contributions “is informed not by ingratitude, but by a conscientious commitment to uphold the impartiality and moral authority of the Church,” Fr. Chifumbe explains in his two-page letter dated June 3.

He further explains, “The context and manner in which these pledges were made risk compromising the Church's long-standing position of political neutrality and inclusivity.”

In his letter, the Vicar General of Mansa Diocese reaffirms the “unwavering commitment” of the Zambian Episcopal See to “collaboration, dialogue, and mutual respect with the Government at both national and local levels.”

“Such cooperation must always be anchored in transparency, inclusiveness, and the non-partisan character of the Church's mission,” Fr. Chifumbe says.

He goes on to explain that while Mansa Diocese’s vision of “embracing everyone with the love of Christ” requires that pastoral and public activities of the Episcopal See are “open to all persons, regardless of political affiliation,” the leadership of the Zambian Diocese finds it unfortunate that “the organization and execution of the said fundraising event were perceived to carry a partisan bias, thereby excluding many would-be participants and undermining the spirit of unity and communion that the Church stands for.”

“We urge all Catholic faithful and members of the public to remain vigilant and to continue to support the Church in ways that reinforce her prophetic voice, spiritual mission and social impartiality,” the Vicar General of Mansa Diocese says.

According to him, the Local Ordinary of Mansa wishes that the June 28 celebrations of 120 years since the first Catholic mission was established in the Zambian region are “held in a deeply spiritual atmosphere of thanksgiving to God.”

Organized under the theme, “Celebrating 120 Years of Proclaiming Christ, the Hope of All Peoples”, the anniversary is to be held at St. Joseph’s Lubwe Parish of Mansa Diocese in the Zambian Province of Luapula in Chifunabuli District.

It is a celebration of the Catholic faith journey that members of the Missionaries of Africa (M.Afr./White Fathers) started in 1905, when they arrived in the area of Chief Chitembo. 

Ahead of the celebration, Bishop Chisanga of Mansa Diocese called upon the people of God under his pastoral care to prepare the June 28 celebration within the broader context of the ongoing Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year being realized under the theme, “Pilgrims of Hope”.

The member of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv) urged active participation in the Diocesan event that he said will mark the start of a five-year journey to culminate in the 125th anniversary, the quasquicentennial jubilee in 2030.

In preparation for the 2030 celebrations, historical sites are to be restored, including converting the first Rectory at Lubwe into a Diocesan Museum to honour the pioneer missionaries and preserve the cultural heritage of the mission.