Bishops discuss sticky issues
Catholic bishops under the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) yesterday started their meeting in Lilongwe with sticky issues such as the country’s economy, corruption fight and the contentious same-sex marriage under scrutiny.
A press release issued yesterday by ECM and signed by its outgoing secretary general Alfred Chaima, who is bishop-elect of Diocese of Zomba, said during their five-day plenary, the bishops will reflect on matters affecting people’s lives in the country.
The bishops, who have always taken a position of ‘no to same-sex unions’, are also expected to discuss several other issues that matter in relation to their Episcopal ministry, according to the statement.
In a WhatsApp interview, Chaima confirmed that matters under discussion will include the harsh economic situation, corruption and an issue currently in court on same-sex marriages.
He said: “They may find time to discuss these and many other issues. At the end of the plenary, they will come up with resolutions and that is where communication of the details will be given.”
The bishops are also expected to continue receiving updates from some key stakeholders within and outside the Catholic Church and will also take time to reflect on climate change issues.
“In the spirit of Pope Francis’s encyclical…[we will also] continue to reflect on current trends that are contributing to global warming and the way the Church can make meaningful contribution to its mitigation,” reads the press release in part.
Our source privy to preparations of the plenary disclosed that Malawi’s tanking economy is considered one serious topic under discussion.
Said the source: “The leadership of the church in the country is deeply concerned with the poor economy that is leaving millions of Malawians suffering. The soaring prices of basic foods, services, electricity and water tariffs, are a big concern to the bishops.
“Life is becoming unbearable. Only the elite can afford to send their children to private schools, within [the country] and abroad while the poor are left to educate their children in poorly equipped government schools full of demotivated teachers whose salaries are depleted on a pay day. The bishops are concerned.”
The source further said it is the expectation of the ECM that President Lazarus Chakwera’s administration will rise above everything else and begin to address real issues that matter to the poor such as access to adequate medical care, quality education and ensure that all citizens are equal before the law.
The source said the bishops were also concerned with what is considered to be a “seriously weakened fight against corruption where only small cases appear to be making progress in the courts at the expense of cases that matter”.
Meanwhile, at the time the High Court of Malawi sitting as the Constitutional Court is still hearing a petition to legalise same-sex relations, the Catholic Church is taking the fight against homosexuality to the streets.
The Archdiocese of Lilongwe last week unveiled plans to hold demonstrations.
The demonstrations are scheduled for Lilongwe this week, according to the Archdiocese of Lilongwe communication dated June 14 2023 to the district commissioner and Speaker of the National Assembly they seek to petition.
Earlier last week, Chaima also confirmed about the demonstrations, but could not confirm reports that the bishops may declare that the protests be conducted nationwide.
The demonstrations in Lilongwe are scheduled to start from Mtima Woyera Parish near Lilongwe Girls’ Secondary School through Mchesi to Parliament Building at the City Centre.
Reads the letter to the Speaker and copied to the Office of the President and Cabinet and the Chief Justice: “On behalf of the lay faithful of the Catholic Church of the Archdiocese of Lilongwe, we the undersigned wish to notify your good office about our intention to present to you a petition on our faith-beliefs, views and opinions against legalisation of homosexuality in Malawi.
“Homosexuality is against the Scripture and the teachings of the Catholic Church and it is about acts against the order of nature, therefore, should not be promoted in any way. It is our conviction that these acts should not be allowed in a country touting to be God-fearing.”
The letter is signed by Archdiocese chaplain Father Emmanuel Dilowo and secretary Janet Siliya.
The development comes after ECM alongside the Malawi Council of Churches, Muslim Association of Malawi and the Evangelical Association of Malawi moved the High Court of Malawi to join the case where pro-same-sex relationships advocates want an interpretation of Section 153 (c) of the Penal Code.
