CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by Patrick Mawaya, Malawi, June 1998
THEME = CHURCH
Bishop Tarcisius Ziyaye is Bishop of Lilongwe in Malawi.
At the opening of a Capacity Building Seminar
for lay leaders held earlier this year,
he said the Church should not be happy
to remain a Church that has to ask for everything
The seminar was attended by lay representatives from the thirty- three parishes of Lilongwe Diocese plus five representatives from diocesan institutions. This Capacity Building Seminar for Lay Leaders was one of a series conducted by the Pastoral Department of Lilongwe Diocese. The whole project for Capacity Building among leaders, receives funding from the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development (CAFOD), the development agency of the Bishops' conference of England and Wales. The seminar looked for ways and means to ensure that: human and material resources are used to maximum capacity; that the laity's management and leadership skills are put to good use; that leadership and managerial skills are shared.
The seminar dealt with issues on development, self reliance and accountability, management and leadership, the place of the laity in the Church, the place of religion in a modern society, and a stable family as the basis of all vocations.
Father Matthias Perekamoyo is the Diocese's Pastoral Secretary. He said: "We decided to embark on this project because as a Church, we felt that we were underperforming. There has been over-reliance on outside donations. In many parishes, resources are available but there is no accountability. At the same time, we need to help the people to be able to manage the resources they already have at hand".
Bishop Ziyaye said: "As a Church, we have a keen interest on on-going formation. We need integral development. We are not a Church that is static but a Church that is forging ahead". The Bishop recognized the immense role that the laity could play in the development of the Church. He said that in the past, the laity were just decisions takers, but today "We have to think together, plan together and act together. The laity should not just take decisions".
"Self-reliance goes together with accountability and transparency", says the Bishop. "People say that the Church is rich, but he cites the closing of some seminaries (in Zomba and Dedza Dioceses) as a sign that the Church is failing to run its seminaries due to lack of funds.
It is not the first time that Lilongwe Diocese has been examining itself as to how it can be truly self-supporting. In January 1973, Bishop Patrick Kalilombe of Lilongwe had written in a Pastoral Letter entitled: "Christ's Church in Lilongwe, Today and Tomorrow" - "Our diocesan pastoral planning project will be valuable only if it can devise ways and means of bringing about a sufficient measure of self-support. What does that involve? Training towards finding local resources; establishing realistic standards of living; building up a committed laity; training local lay leaders; establishing Small Christian Communities".
Some parishes in the 1950's and 1960's were already self- supporting with projects such as in Guilleme which had cattle for sale, and Nambuma which was leading in the production of vegetables for sale to commercial retail shops. But now all this has stopped. At the moment it's like going back to the roots and starting again.
The "Capacity Building" Programme is a project well- adapted to the needs of the diocese. However, there are challenges. Father Perekamoyo says: "If you want to have well-qualified personnel, you have to pay for it". An obvious reference to the fact that the Church has been using cheap labour and poor quality personnel for its services. "If you want quality service, you must have well-qualified personnel".
Other obstacles to the Church becoming truly a local Church, are: The Church's lack of resources; the function of the hierarchy within the Church; the clergy's failure to appreciate their full role; the ever-widening gap between priests and laity. There are some parish priests who still think they are the parish and they must make all the decisions!
END
CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
PeaceLink 1998 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement