I’m still Archbishop Banda’s priest, I wasn’t expelled from priesthood – Father Frank Bwalya
I’m still Archbishop Banda’s priest, I wasn’t expelled from priesthood – Bwalya
UPND member and ex Catholic priest Frank Bwalya says despite his departure from the priesthood, he remains spiritually connected to Archbishop Alick Banda and continues to regard him as his bishop.
Bwalya noted that he shares a personal relationship with Archbishop Banda which dates back to when they lived together in Mufulira when the archbishop was on his study break from Germany.
He said people should therefore not expect him to criticise the archbishop publicly when he can just reach out to him in private and sort out issues he may not agree with.
Appearing on Sunday Interview yesterday, Bwalya reminded citizens that contrary to what has been in the media for years, he was not expelled from the priesthood but wrote a letter to then bishop of Ndola diocese Alick Banda that he didn’t intend to continue with the priesthood.
“It’s not for me to come to a programme like this and criticise my bishop and so on, we have ways to send a message, where we think maybe the bishop is saying something that is unfair, we reach out to him.”
“The church does not live in the past, if you saw Frank Bwalya with Archbishop Alick Banda and Frank Bwalya may have insulted the bishop, the bishop will not turn away from such a soul. The story of the prodigal son, these people are meant to show love for they do not live in the past,” said Bwalya.
He also condemned senior UPND party officials who allegedly referred to Banda as Lucifer noting that the Catholic Church has always been committed to working with government by giving constructive criticism.
The ex priest narrated that he has never regretted his decision of leaving the priesthood but has nothing against the Catholic Church.
“I was removed by the bishop, Alick Banda from Radio Icengelo because the ruling party at that time complained that I had become too partisan. And thereafter, I took leave of absence from the priesthood and that’s how I wrote to the bishop so that whatever I said would not be associated with the pulpit. Later on we aligned ourselves with the PF.”
“I was not expelled from the priesthood as some people would want to allege and the church continued to look after me after I went on leave of absence and after eight years or so, I wrote to the bishop Dr Alick Banda that I had no intentions to go back to the priesthood,” clarified. Bwalya.
By Catherine Pule
Kalemba, October 7, 2024