According to THE Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB), improper family communication is one of the reasons for fractured houses in the nation.
Father Francis Mukosa, the secretary general of the ZCCB, has urged families to take a break from TV and phone use so they can spend more time talking to one another and praying together.
Father Mukosa urged everyone to celebrate Lent as a time for meaningful dialogues, especially among family members, in his lenten message of 2023.
He claimed that observing Lent as a family may be a time for closeness and a potent reminder of the impact parents have on their children’s lives.
The fact that more than 31,000 divorces were reported last year, according to Father Mukosa, is terrible.
“It is alarming and shameful to record more than 31,000 divorce cases in the courts of law in 2022. It has also been established that one of the major causes of family breakdown in Zambia is lack of proper communication. Therefore, abstaining from gluing to the TV screen or mobile phones as a form of fasting can actually help families to have time to listen to each other and engage in communal prayers,” said Father Mukosa.
He emphasized that Lent, in which special time is devoted to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, is the Christian season of spiritual preparation prior to Easter.
It is common knowledge today among Zambians that moral decay is a reality and a serious national concern. Thus, the Lenten period should be understood as a time for repentance and conversion, and can be a privileged moment for the nation to uphold national values and principles. This calls for concerted efforts in bringing about change of mindset and behavior,” he said.
He also said that the concerns of the poor should be attended to during the Lent season.
