” ““Proclaiming the need of honesty, attachment to the family, discipline and faithfulness, all values with a decisive impact on the health and stability of society”. It was the invitation through which Benedict XVI addressed the bishops of Zambia today. They were received in ad limina visit. During his opening speech, the coadjutor of Lusaka, Archbishop Msgr. Telesphore George Mpundu, president of the Bishops’ Conference of Zambia, had described the situation of his country to the Pope, a “very young democracy” in which the Church “refuses to remain silent on both socio-economical and justice aspects”. Archbishop Mpundu recalled that 80% of the population is living in poverty, and 18-20% of adults are suffering from HIV. Benedict XVI encouraged the bishops “to instruct believers with the values and the practice of prayer, and in particular, of liturgical prayer”. They are also supposed to pass on the “joy of serving the Lord with the right detachment from the things of the world” to the priests, “who may be distracted by the numerous temptations of contemporary society”. “We believe that the Church is holy”, pointed out the Pope, and “holiness is a gift of God, manifested through love for God and the neighbour”. “Dear brothers, – he added, – show Christ’s compassion, above all, to the poor, refugees, the sick and the suffering people”.
