LIKE the bible narrative “Let he is without sin, cast the first stone,” Catholic Ndola Diocese Bishop Benjamin Phiri has bordered his send off message of the late Father Deodatus Mbebe who was killed in the late hours of Monday in a similar manner.
Bishop Phiri has rebuked people for their concentration in only speaking and publishing the negatives about the late Fr Mbebe stating that those shaming him are equally of sin.
Bishop Phiri says that those shaming the late Fr Mbebe and are even seeking to pull away from the church are hypocrites and Jezebels who run after priests.
The death of Fr Mbebe brought about a media frenzy after it was alleged that he died near his girlfriends house.
In the Catholic church those ordained into priesthood and vow to serve God are not allowed to marry, which has sent alot of speculation around members of the public as to why the late Fr Mbebe was in a relationship from as far back as 2002.
However, Bishop Phiri in his send off message for the late Fr Mbebe said that every human being has hidden secrets which if displayed before the public eye will bring forth shame and that is why the late Fr Mbebe should not be judged.
Bishop Phiri says it is sad that all that is being heard and said about the late Fr Mbebe is only about the sins he committed and nothing is being said about the lives he saved and converted through his time serving God for the past 20 years in the church.
“Many people were converted because of his preaching and became Christians.God is a God of mercy and receives us inspite of ourselves ,because we have been born in his light. He will not abandon us at a time we need him. All of us in here have our secrets and one day we will see all those secrets and they will be displayed and we will all hang our heads in shame,” he said.
Bishop Phiri said from the day that he heard of Fr Mbebe’s gruesome murder, he has reflected, prayed and deeply thought about Fr Mbebe’s death.
“The night of the incident, I was awake .Sometimes we stay up late as servants of God. Something crossed my mind that one of my son’s, my foot soldier has left us. That was a thought. So when I heard, i was deeply disturbed. So I started praying, I prayed for every body, first for the yung man who has gone to God to have mercy on him because we do not know what happened. We do not know what happened exactly. We are ony hearing what people are saying we do not know what is the truth. I prayed that God should have mercy on him because he was a servant of God,” he said.
He has further called on police to hasten investigations by bringing culprits to book, rather than concentrating on the negative stories that have continued to circulate in the media.
(Mwebantu, Wednesday, 21st September, 2022)
