Amid Malawi’s “unprecedented challenges”, Church Leaders Urged to “always” Be in Solidarity with Poor, Marginalized

Blantyre, 27 June, 2025 / 11:20 AM

As Malawi grapples with rising levels of corruption and poverty among other “unprecedented challenges”, Church leaders are being urged to “always” demonstrate solidarity with the needy in society.

Speaking on the first day of the June 23-27 second Plenary Assembly of the members of the Malawi Conference of Catholic Bishops (MCCB), the MCCB President said, “This Plenary comes at a time when our country is facing unprecedented challenges.”

Bishop Martin Anwel Mtumbuka highlighted the worsening levels of poverty, political violence, growing fears and suspicion regarding the forthcoming elections, and a rise in reported cases of hunger as some of the challenges the people of God in the Southern African nation are facing.

In the face of all these challenges, Bishop Mtumbuka said, “The Church in general and the MCCB in particular, are called upon to be beacons of hope, sources of healing, and always taking the side of the poor and the marginalized, because the anguish of the poor is the anguish of the Church.”

“My dear brothers in the Episcopate and the Priesthood, as the MCCB, let us continue to work together, with unity and charity, to fulfil our noble but difficult task of ministering to Christ’s faithful in Malawi, whom the good Lord has entrusted to our pastoral care,” he said.

For the Church to foster healing and give hope, the Local Ordinary of Malawi’s Karonga Diocese said, “We must listen to one another with open hearts and minds, and we must seek to discern the will of God in all that we do.”

As the MCCB president, Bishop Mtumbuka pledged to “do everything possible” to fulfil his “humble role of fostering synodality and unity in the Conference.”

He further pledged to be mindful of “Canon 455(4), which not only guarantees and protects the competence of each Diocesan Bishop but also obliges presidents of Conferences to ensure consensus of all members regarding anything done on behalf of the Conference.”

In his opening address at the five-day Plenary Assembly held at the Catholic Secretariat in Lilongwe, Bishop Mtumbuka said that going forward, he desires that MCCB members “revitalize the missionary spirit among all agents of evangelization in our Church in Malawi.”

For too long, the MCCB President said, the Catholic Bishops and the people of God have lamented over poor pastoral work, which he said is manifested in many ways, including “very poor-quality catechism lessons given to catechumens, the youth and children.”

He further listed several indicators of weak pastoral engagement, including the lack of outreach to lapsed Catholics, the infrequent visitation of Catholic families—often limited to only a few households—and a growing number of marital challenges, where couples are left to navigate their difficulties without adequate counselling or spiritual support.

Additionally, Bishop Mtumbuka identified the urgent need for a more authentic and credible witness by agents of evangelization among the several indicators of inadequate pastoral care.

He also noted a troubling lack of concern for those who have not yet encountered Christ—particularly in urban centers and remote regions—and observed that some pastoral agents appear content with offering only the bare minimum in pastoral services.

In the face of such pastoral challenges, Bishop Mtumbuka said, “We as members of the MCCB as chief shepherds of the local Church of Malawi, must, with grace of God, do everything possible to promote a strong awareness among all ordained and consecrated agents of evangelization as well as lay faithful, that missionary activity is a matter for all Christians, for all dioceses and parishes, Church institutions and associations.”

The 67-year-old Local Ordinary of Karonga Diocese, who has been at the helm of the Diocese since his Episcopal Ordination in November 2010, urged MCCB members to use the Plenary Assembly as “a springboard” and be cognizant that the “Catholic Church in Malawi will renew her missionary commitment –both primary and new.”

MCCB members, Bishop Mtumbuka further said, should use the meeting to focus on the fact that “our Seminaries will provide quality holistic formation to our Seminarians, paying special attention to all forms of sexual misconduct, gambling, clericalism, and lack of pastoral zeal.”

He also urged his colleagues to be more visible and embrace sustainable commitment to the care of Mother Earth and improved levels of financial management at all levels of the Church in the country.

Bishop Mtumbuka further underlined the need for MCCB members and leaders of religious institutes to collaboratively promote a deeper understanding of and commitment to fidelity to Evangelical Counsels.

Continuing to request the Holy Father for the urgent and pressing need for a permanent presence of the Apostolic Nuncio in Malawi and the need to promote Catholic higher learning institutions for better education are also among the issues Malawi’s Catholic Bishops were asked to deliberate on during the Plenary Assembly.

Bishop Mtumbuka also urged the Bishops to use the Plenary Assembly to ensure that the MCCB Secretariat adheres to the very best practices in financial management, implements its projects efficiently, and is financially self-reliant.

The MCCB Plenary Assembly should also ensure the “presence of sustainable self-reliance initiatives in all our dioceses and parishes,” the MCCB president said.