of Catholic Bishops
The Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC) has rebranded to Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) and launched its 2017-2026 strategic plan on, Friday 15th July, 2016.
Speaking during the event, ZCCB President Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu said that the rebranding aims at making the church relevant to the present time.
Commenting on the launch of the ZCCB 2017-2026 strategic plan, the President said that the conference will not achieve its purpose unless the Holy Spirit is involved.
His Grace Mpundu added that the ZCCB strategic plan has come about timely in view of making the Catholic Church in the country more relevant according to needs of the people today.
“The Lord says that if we build without him, we build in vain, and therefore as Christians we should involve Christ in all we do. This strategic plan will make the church more relevant in social, political and economic issues,” he said.He added that the 2017-2026 strategic plan is a sacred document because of its mission of taking the Gospel to the whole world as Jesus Christ commanded.
“This document will help the Church spread the Gospel intelligently and shall be a Road Map with the help of the Holy Spirit,”he said.
The ZCCB President further appealed to the lay faithful, the clergy, religious and all people of good will to help the Bishops of Zambia achieve what is contained in the strategic plan.
The Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC) was established in 1965. The statutes of the conference were approved by the Holy See on April 2, 1984. The ZEC is a member of the association of member episcopal conferences in eastern Africa (AMECEA) and symposium of episcopal conferences and of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishops will issue a pastoral statement on the state of the nation as Zambia elects a new president on Sunday. The issuance of the Pastoral Letter will be done in Chipata Diocese.
By Mwenya Mukuka. ZCCB Communications Office