SPEECH BY ARCHBISHOP MSUSA AT THE BURIAL CEREMONY FOR LATE BISHOP JOSEPH MUKASA ZUZA

SPEECH AT THE BURIAL CEREMONY FOR LATE BISHOP JOSEPH MUKASA ZUZA

Salutation

-Your Excellency, Professor Authur Peter Mutharika, The President of the Republic of Malawi

-Right Honorable Mr Saulos Klaus Chilima- The Vice President of the Republic of Malawi

-Your Excellency, Most Reverend Archbishop Julio Murat- The Apostolic Nuncio to Malawi & Zambia

-Your Grace, Most Reverend Tarcisius G. Ziyaye- Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Lilongwe

-You Lordship Right Reverend Benjamini Phiri -Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Chipata-Zambia

-MY LORD BISHOPS, Monsignors and the Vicars General

-Very Reverend Fr. Henry Kaleso-Diocesan Administrator of the Diocese of Zomba,

-The Catholic Religious Superiors and Provincials

-Reverend Father Chrysantus Ndaga- the Deputy Secretary General of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences of Eastern Africa (AMECEA)

-Reverend Father Emmanuel Chimombo-The Acting Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM)
-Cabinet Ministers

-Members of Parliament

-Leaders of various Political Parties

-Members of the Clergy, the Religious Brothers and Sisters

-Leaders from various Faith Communities

-Paramount and Traditional Chiefs

-Members of the Diplomatic Core and Other Cooperating Partners

-Members of the Media Institutions

-Members of the bereaved family, relatives and friends

-Mayor of the City of Mzuzu

-The National Catholic Executive Council of the Laity

-The National Executive Council of the Catholic Women Organization

-Ladies and Gentlemen

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ!

1. The Catholic Family in Malawi is shocked and in the state of mourning…

The Catholic Bishops of Malawi, who make up the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM), the Association of Diocesan Clergy of Malawi (ADCOM), the Catholic Religious Fraternity of Malawi of AMRIM and AWRIM and the entire Catholic Family in Malawi are deeply saddened and shocked with the untimely death of our Chairman and beloved Brother Bishop Joseph Mukasa ZUZA.

On behalf of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) and on my own behalf I offer condolences to you:
-Your Excellency Professor Authur Peter Mutharika,
-the Apostolic Nuncio to Malawi, His Grace, Archbishop Julio Murat,
-my fellow Brother Bishops,
-Members of the Clergy,
-the Religious and the entire Catholic Family in Malawi;
for losing such an active, courageous, friendly, very Prophetic leader and citizen of this country.

In fact, the last few days have been a terrible time, a time of mourning and grieving for the Conference, the Catholic Church in Malawi and the nation as a whole. It is like a nightmare that Bishop Zuza is no more with us.

2. Bishop Joseph Mukasa Zuza was a simple, friendly but Courageous, Prophetic and transformative Leader…

Bishop Zuza has gone home now, guided by his faith. At last he is with the Lord, although too early, leaving those of us who grieve his passing on with huge memories: as a friend and an active Bishop who could be depended upon, a unifying factor at the ECM level, and it is indeed, under his leadership that we remember how the entire Catholic Family in Malawi was united and moved to celebrate AMECEA 2014! We remember the leadership style that he portrayed with humility and the laughter that he shared with us in various occasions.

Indeed, we are all struggling to come to terms with his sudden death, however, one thing that I may emphasize here is: Bishop Zuza would be very proud of us if we came together to learn and put into practice what he believed in:

He believed in the God of the poor, the God of mercy and forgiving, the God who walks side by side with us… the God who walks with the children, the youth as well as adults. He believed in the God who walks side by side with the voiceless people, with the sick, with the marginalized in society. He dreamed of a united Malawi, a united society without corruption, hence he preached the God of peace, justice and love!

Bishop Zuza was very keen to learn and talk about environmental issues and climate change …and that was why he could speak out in time of necessity.

3. How do we best remember His Lordship
Joseph Mukasa Zuza…

In his apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), Pope Francis invites all to a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. We are not to keep the faith to ourselves, but we are sent as missionary disciples to transform the world to Christ.

We are all called to be Spirit-filled disciples, not in a maintenance mode but rather a missionary one (Evangelii Gaudium,118-120,259-262). This is what characterized Bishop Joseph Zuza……

As a person he was always there…for everybody in time of need. Indeed, he was a blessing, a gift to the Episcopal Conference of Malawi and to the nation.

Yes, there are very few people who can live and speak courageously like him. He was so original in the way he did things. He had a wonderful sense of humor and a way of focusing on someone with total attention. It was a gift of himself that he gave to others whole heartedly. He undoubtedly gave more meaning to the title of Bishop.

Bishop Zuza never wanted public notice. However in all the 20 years I have known him as Bishop, his genuineness and depth of character continued to shine and reach out to people everywhere. And of course, the Episcopal Conference of Malawi has benefitted a lot from him.

Bishop was gifted in leadership, hence, he held several positions in the Church on local and regional level. On local level, he once served as Vice Chairman of ECM; Chairman for Justice and Peace Commission (CCJP); Chairman for Education Commission; Chairman for the Mixed Commission. On regional level he once served as Malawi Delegate in the AMECEA Executive Board; Chairman of AMECEA Staffing Committee (2008 – 2011);

As Chairman for ECM Right Rev. Joseph Mukasa Zuza has died while serving as Chancellor of the Catholic University of Malawi (CUNIMA). He also represented the Conference at a Synod on Challenges facing family life that took place in Rome last year, 2014.

4. What do we learn from the life of Bishop Mukasa Zuza…

Brothers and Sisters, all in all, nothing was more important to Bishop Zuza than the people who were very close to his heart, hence let’s keep close to each other and do what he would want.

If we carry a little bit of Bishop Zuza inside ourselves, our Church and country will be transformed to the better. If we are to look for positives to come out of this painful experience, it is just that taste of his life…!

Bishop Zuza should be alive in every single one of us. We have so many amazing memories to share about him, so let’s just keep sharing them and enjoying them. He would want us to be always happy and joyful!

Laughter always got him through in all his hard times, and laughter will get through in ours. I guess what I’m trying to say here should be Bishop Zuza’s own words to us, not mine:

“Don’t forget to laugh and when you do laugh, don’t feel guilty because you are supposed to be mourning for me, laugh because I am still here with you all, laugh because I can hear you.”

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, relatives and friends of late Bishop Zuza; Let us carry with us the Bishop’s legacy wherever we go. For this isn’t goodbye, it’s just a different kind of being Bishop of Mzuzu Diocese!

5. Vote of thanks to everyone and the Conclusion…

Once again, on behalf of the Conference I wish to thank the State President, Your Excellency Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika and the Vice President, Honorable Saulos Klaus Chilima, for being personally present here today and for your support that you have given during these difficult times.
We thank you, the State President, especially for your personal contribution of 2 Million Kwacha for this function.

I thank the Holy Father, Pope Francis for His message and prayers and also for sending His representative, His Grace, Most Rev. Archbishop Julio Murat who is among us here today and to you my fellow Bishops.

I thank the AMECEA representative, Rev. Fr. Ndaga, and all Cooperating Partners, Dioceses, Ecumenical Bodies, Priests, Religious Brothers and Sisters, the choir and various Church groups, the Lay Faithful and people of good will for your comforting messages of condolence and support-both financial and material.

Finally, my gratitude goes to Rt. Rev. Bishop Martin Mtumbuka, Bishop of the Diocese of Karonga, the Clergy, the Religious and the entire family of Mzuzu Diocese for your hospitality and for organizing everything very well within a short period of time and amidst mourning.

Let us all live to remember Bishop Zuza as one who was naturally kind-hearted, friendly, cheerful, and always available to everyone. May God reward him by welcoming him into His heavenly Kingdom!

May the Soul of Bishop Joseph Mukasa Zuza rest in eternal peace!

Archbishop Thomas Luke Msusa, SMM
ECM VICE CHAIRMAN