KEY NOTE
ADDRESS BY RT. REV. JOSEPH ANTONY ZZIWA DURING THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE
AMECEA JUSTICE AND PEACE WORKSHOP HELD IN NAIROBI ON THE 27TH
JANUARY 2015
Your Grace,
Your Lordships,
The AMECEA Secretary
General,
National Justice and
Peace Coordinators,
The AMECEA
Secretariat Staff,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I warmly welcome you
all to this meeting in Nairobi representing the National Justice and Peace
Commissions of our respective Episcopal Conferences belonging to AMECEA. Thank
for coming. Thank you for the tremendous work that you are doing in your
respective countries. At the same time I would like to extend my gratitude to
AMECEA Secretariat staff for their effort in organizing this meeting. Special
thanks to our partners who have provided the resources that have helped us to
realize this meeting.
I extend to you
greetings and blessing from the Members of the Executive Board of AMECEA who
entrusted me with this office during the first meeting of the new Board in
September 2014. I am happy to meet you for the first time since I assumed this office.
I ask for your commitment and collaboration as we promote justice and peace in
our region and the world at large.
Allow me to mention
some of the events that have recently taken place in our region. We have heard
with joy that the Chairman of AMECEA and Archbishop of Addis Ababa, Most Rev.
Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, has been created cardinal. We thank His
Holiness Pope Francis for the honour that he bestowed on our chairman and we
congratulate the chairman himself. We wish him a fruitful ministry as cardinal.
On a sad note, on the 15th January 2015 God called to himself Rt.
Rev. Joseph Mukasa Zuza, the Chairman of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi. He
died in a road accident. We convey our condolences to the Bishops of the
Conference of Malawi and all the people of Malawi. We pray for Church in Malawi
during this tragic moment and as they wait upon the Lord to send them a new
shepherd to continue the great work that Bishop Zuza was doing. Eternal rest grant
unto him oh Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul rest in
eternal peace!
The Justice and Peace
Commission plays an important role in the apostolate of the Bishops Conference
of every country. Hence, be confident, feel empowered by the bishops to assist
them or even advise them in that area. Work very closely with them. Although it
is the duty of governments to maintain peace and security and ensure that
justice is rendered to all citizens, the Church as the voice of the people
checks on the observance and respect of those rights. In that respect, the
Justice and Peace Commission is hereby the strong arm of the Church to promote
justice and tranquility. So, I encourage you to redouble your efforts in
promoting justice, peace and reconciliation in our society. The challenges we
are not insurmountable and I believe that by sharing and working together for
the common good we can contribute to lessening the burden and to giving hope to
the less fortunate people in our region.
As you are aware, our
region is blessed with many good things, it is also faced with many different
challenges which tarnish the beauty of our countries. Some of those evil
challenges are corruption, armed conflicts, influx of refugees, terrorism,
drought, domestic violence, bad governance, inequitable distribution of
resources, poverty and bad policies that marginalize the poor. These challenges
call for concerted efforts to enable our people live dignified lives and that
justice is rendered to all.
It is true that the Church
is the conscience of society, the voice of the voiceless. Hence the Church must
not shy away and should not be prevented from fulfilling her prophetic role.
The work of justice and peace cannot be limited to one group, in this case the
government. It is the agenda for all of us in society. It is important to have
the voice of the Church heard and also let the Church give input during policy
making processes at all levels of governance. The Church and State must embrace
each other as importance allies working for the welfare of God’s people. It is
therefore necessary to cultivate good working relationship between Church and
State. That said does not mean that the Church, in this case Justice and Peace
Commissions will close their eyes when acts of injustice are committed against
the people of God. So I urge you to speak out with courage against all forms of
injustice. Point out the wrongs in your countries without fear or favour. At
the same time be ready to offer solutions. Ensuring good governance and respect
for the rule of law must be one of your guiding principles as a justice and
peace worker.
In this regard, I
call for the establishment of Parliamentary Liaison Offices where they are
missing. This is a good avenue for engaging policy makers and monitoring the
activities of parliament. Similarly, forming Catholic Parliamentarian
Committees in every country is equally important. This is a very good avenue
for lobbying policy makers and effectively ensuring our input in the policy
making processes.
Ladies and gentlemen,
having free and fair elections is a pillar of any free, democratic and stable
society. Free and fair elections ensure that the people elect their leaders of
choice. Civic education and election monitoring play a critical role in ensuring
free and fair elections. As justice and peace workers, please participate fully
in the electoral processes including civic education and election monitoring. I
urge all the National Justice and Peace Chairmen and Coordinators to form
national election monitoring teams that will journey with the national
electoral commissions throughout the electoral processes to ensure free and
fair elections.
As you know, the
office our Regional Coordinator for Justice and Peace is still vacant since
Rev. Fr. Jude Waweru left the AMECEA Secretariat last year. I want to assure
you that the process of appointing his successor is going on.
As I conclude, let me
wish you a nice stay in Nairobi and fruitful deliberations. May Almighty God
grant you the strength, courage, wisdom and faith to continue fostering justice
and peace in our region of AMECEA.
Thank you for
listening to me and God bless you all.
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Joseph Antony Zziwa
Chairman
AMECEA
Justice and Peace Commission
