LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The Catholic bishops in the country, under the umbrella of the influential Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) says Malawi needs a change of direction, lamenting that the hard-won democracy has not yielded fruits people anticipated.
Malawi Catholic Bishops have said Malawi needs a change of direction
The pastoral letter read out in all Catholic churches on Sunday, May 23, 2020 —the fifth Sunday of Easter in the Catholic calendar—observes that 54 years after independence, Malawians are still wallowing in poverty as the few “exercise power band enjoy wealth at the expense of the majority”.
In the preamble of their 16-page Pastoral Letter titled: ‘A Call For A New Era In Malawi’, the bishops say they are saddened to note that the hard-won freedom and democratic dispensation in the country have not brought hope to Malawians.
“We have observed with deep sorrow that the majority of the people in this country still languish under the yokes of poverty, ignorance, disease hunger a seriously distorted mindset that has led to a dangerous moral decadence in our society,” say the bishops in the Pastoral Letter, which is divided in three chapters.
In the first chapter titled ‘Need for a New Leadership in Malawi’, among other issues, the bishops say they are commissioned to preach the Gospel “whether it is convenient or inconvenient” (2 Timothy 4:2), noting that there is something wrong in our society that needs to be put right.
“We are of the opinion that Malawi, as a nation, needs a change of direction if we are to reverse the situation. We mean a total change in the way of doing things other than ‘business as usual,” the bishops say.
They go on to ask Malawians to take stock of whether the current system of government has over the years delivered on its promise to uplift the lives of all the citizens or whether the country paid lip-service to democracy by allowing a few people to exercise power and authority and enjoy the wealth of this country at the expense of the vast majority.
The Pastoral letter is available in all Catholic book outlets.
The letter comes just a month before Malawians go into fresh presidential elections following February 3, 2020 Constitutional Court (ConCourt) nullification of May 21, 2019.
Lazarus Chakwera alongside Saulos Chilima with Tonse alliance will face Peter Mutharika of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and UDF partnership.