ZAMBIA: Parish Priests Desire Accompaniment and Support, Cleric’s Experience After Synod Meeting
Fr. Cletus Mwiila from Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) in Monze Diocese
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
After a four-day meeting for parish priests from across the globe at the Fraterna Domus in Sacrofano, near Rome, Fr. Cletus Mwiila from Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) in Monze Diocese shared the uniqueness of the meeting and highlighted that parish priests also need accompaniment and support.
In an interview with AMECEA Online, Wednesday, May 1, while attending the sessions in Rome, the Parish Priest of St. Mary’s Parish in Choma Monze Diocese narrated, “The meeting was a universal experience lived in total brotherhood. I learned that priests are men with joys and worries who cry for accompaniment and support.”
According to the Zambian cleric who was one of the participants from the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA), the synod experience resonated well with a Church that desires to be a custodian of parishes, “risking daily for the Kingdom of God, like Abraham.”
He disclosed that the meeting was unique and shall remain historical in the life of the Church, being the first time the parish priests whom he describes as “men in trenches with their parishioners” met from around the world and the first time to be in the synod.”
Fr. Mwiila who doubles as the Synod Contact person for Monze Diocese and has over 30 years of experience in priesthood underscores that the entire four-day synodal meeting was more of a retreat.
“From the first day to the end, the meeting was spent in conversation with the Holy Spirit,” the cleric said and expounded, “Every stage and every thought was a prayer in conversation with the Holy Spirit. Stories told by the parish Priests for the Synod became the stories of God. Indeed, there was a breath of God’s spirit throughout the Synod. It was unique.”
Affirming that the parish priest meeting was necessary for the good of the local churches worldwide, Fr. Mwiila expressed that parish priests “live among people and journey daily with their parishioners hence they are the closest to the reality of the Church in the world and are part of the joys and sorrows of their parishioners.”
Additionally, he shared further his experience, “Stories told by the priests spelled out the commitment of the priests around the world. It has been an experience of humility by men entrusted to care for the souls of people in their jurisdictions with diverse realities.”
He noted that even though the parish priests from various parts of the world met for the first time, “There was trust that generated new opportunities and new horizons that brought the feeling that God is present in every parish and the meeting has been a call to become a new Church, a synodal Church!
The international meeting of parish priests themed “Parish Priests for the Synod: An International Meeting” was organized following a concern from the first synod session held last October that the priests need to be more involved in the synodal process as they are key to the implementation of any programs aimed at promoting synodality at the grassroots level.
The meeting took place from Sunday 28 April to Thursday 2 May 2024.
