Catholic Senators celebrate Mass in Parliament

The Senate chamber was turned into a a temple for an hour when Catholic MPs and staff celebrated mass at Parliament for the first time ever mass last month.

This was reveled by Harare West MP Jessie Majome.

"The celebrant was Fr E. Ndete who is the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Officer. The mass was followed by the election of office bearers to the Zimbabwe Catholic Legislators Network. Our aim is to ensure that we don't leave our faith at the doors of our Parliament," she said.

"I initiated this network after I was invited by CAMPSSI (Catholic MPs Spiritual Support Initiative) from Kenya to compile a list of Catholic MPs for them to convey to the International Catholic Legislators' Network who were organizing an annual conference in Roma Italy."

Majome said Zimbabwe became the 2nd African Parliament to send representation to the event through The Speaker Jacob Mudenda, Senator Prisca Mupfumira and herself.

"The 3 of us also attended this year's event and had the opportunity to meet His Holiness Pope Francis," she said.

"The attendance by 13 MPs and 4 staff members of the mass was encouraging for a start. I hope numbers will swell with the passage of time. I also took the opportunity to distribute badges, CDs and flyers on abolishing the death penalty in Zimbabwe. As a Catholic I find the death penalty contrary to the social teaching of the church which hallows the preservation of life."

Majome said as a human rights activist she  abhors it, and as a lawyer she finds it unjustifiable and irrational as it is neither deters killing nor rehabilitates nor integrates the perpetrator.

"Our new Constitution outlawed the death penalty and provided that if Parliament ever decided to instal it it would restricted only to men between 21 -69 years who commit murder in aggravating circumstances," said Majome.

"The following are the inaugural office bearers of the Catholic Legislators' Network Zimbabwe: Chairperson Hon. Pricillah . Mupfumira,  Deputy Chair Hon. Never. Khanye,  Secretary Hon. Jessie. Majome, Deputy Sec Hon. Jacob. Mudenda, Treasurer Hon. K. Chabuka, Committee Members Hon. J. Toffa, Hon. L. Chikomba, and Liturgy Hon. R. Makoni."