CATHOLIC CHURCH LOSES POLITICAL GRIP
….Lubinda Haabazoka warns bishops perceived as biased political players rather than neutral referees
By DAVID KANDUZA
PROMINENT Zambian academic and economist Lubinda Haabazoka has warned that the Roman Catholic Church leadership has officially lost its historical influence over the population due to perceived political bias.
In a detailed analysis of the church’s shifting role in national affairs, Dr Haabazoka noted that while the Catholic Church historically held the power to sway public opinion and tip election outcomes, it had recently misread the national mood.
He emphasised that his observations were a scholarly assessment rather than an attack
According to Dr Haabazoka, the church’s most critical recent mistake was its insistence on organising a highly publicised candle mass.
The event drew heavy criticism from the ruling party and was widely boycotted by ordinary citizens who viewed it as a thinly veiled political rally.
“In its wisdom, the church should have either removed the candle from the mass, invited all political parties to attend, or even cancelled the mass altogether,” Dr Haabazoka observed.
He noted that opposition figures heavily advertised the event, openly associating the candle symbol with their own political emblems.
By forging ahead, the church leadership inadvertently harmed the very political factions they were perceived to be supporting.
Dr Haabazoka highlighted that the church’s political leverage was further weakened by its dwindling membership.
Citing official data from the Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats), he pointed out that the Roman Catholic Church no longer dominated the country’s religious landscape.
The current denominational breakdown reveals a highly fragmented Christian population: as follows Roman Catholic: 17.9 per cent, Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) 17.7 per cent, Pentecostal 17.5 per cent and the United Church of Zambia (UCZ) 9.6 per cent
Others were the New Apostolic Church (NAC) at 8.4 per cent with the Catholics, SDAs and Pentecostals now holding nearly equal shares of the population,
Dr Haabazoka explained that historical rivalries often cause other denominations to deliberately take opposing stances to counter Catholic influence.
“Referees never take sides. When they issue a red card, everyone agrees with it,” Dr Haabazoka stated, arguing that pastoral letters from Catholic bishops no longer carry the historical weight they once did because the public now views the church as an active party to political conflicts.
He urged the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church to seriously reconsider its role ahead of future elections, calling on the institution to return to its core mission of national reconciliation, inclusivity and spiritual guidance.