ZAMBIA: We Call For A Restart Button In Addressing Environmental Challenges, Bishops Say

By Arnold Neliba

LUSAKA, OCTOBER 5, 2021 (CISA) – “We call for a restart button for us to go into the future. We call on governments worldwide to do things that are not only legally correct, but ecologically correct,” appealed Fr Francis Mukosa, the Secretary General of The Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB).

In a statement issued on October 4, at the Zambia Catholic Secretariat in Lusaka, to mark the end of the 2021 Season of Creation, Fr Mukosa appealed for the preservation of diversity and invited governments across the world to prioritize programmes that critically address ecological impacts felt by people, particularly the poorest, the vulnerable, the marginalized and those that live in remote areas.

Fr Mukosa also urged policy makers and countries to initiate processes that will lead to an era of global recovery and regeneration.

“It is critical that we all continue to look at the strengthening and protecting of biodiversity, not just as a value we hold, but as a responsibility that is vital to our way of life,” said Fr Mukosa.

The Secretary General of ZCCB called on the faithful to play a part in protecting our common home with prayer and commitment.

“Christian man and woman, every member of the human family, can act as a thin yet unique and indispensable thread in weaving a network of life that embraces everyone. May we feel challenged to assume, with prayer and commitment, our responsibility for the care of creation,” urged Fr Mukosa.

The Season of Creation that began on September 1, on the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, ended on October 4, on the Feast of St. Francis, the patron saint of ecology.