BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)—The Catholic Church has announced that all Palm Sunday offerings will go towards the fight against the covid-19 pandemic.
Christians in the country silently observed the Palm Sunday without the usual procession of the faithful carrying Palm branches to mark their savior Jesus Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
Episcope Conference of Malawi General Secretary, Father Henry Saindi, has told the local media that the church has also suspended the way of the cross this year due to the covid-19 outbreak.
“What was put in place was only a provision for prayers. But even in the case of holding prayers the numbers were limited because a day like Palm Sunday we have a huge number of people who come to attend a procession.
“Unfortunately the restriction that we have from the civil authority is that those who are gathering the numbers should not go beyond 100. So we established in all our dioceses that even if the celebration had to go on without the procession of the palm should not exceed 100,” said Saindi.
President Peter Mutharika announced first cases of coronavirus in the country on April 2, a day that was also set for prayers to seek God’s intervention in the prevailing situation.
Mutharika subsequently announced strict measures in an effort to control the spread of the virus. He ordered the closure of schools and a suspension of public gatherings.
Meanwhile, the state funded Malawi Himan Rights Commission (MHRC) has warned that any covid-19 preventive measure must not infringe on the rights of Malawians.
The commission says the preventive measures must be in line with principals of participation, human diginity, nondiscrimination and protection of marginalized and vulnerable people.
