Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Lilongwe (Agenzia Fides) - "The attack on the Holy Father, Pope Francis is an attack on the whole Church that is, One Holy Catholic and Apostolic". Thus the Episcopal Conference of Malawi invites political leaders, both government and opposition, to desist from dragging the name of the Holy Father into petty party politics.
In their statement released on September 13, 2018, the Bishops strongly condemned the attack by a section of Malawian politicians during a meeting in Blantyre on 9 September, saying that the current 79-Year old President of Malawi will only resign after Pope Francis, 81, steps down because the Malawi leader is younger.
The Bishops’ Statement additionally denounced the recent attacks on the Catholic Church and the victimization of her members for cheap political gain saying that as Catholic Bishops, they are ever aware of their duty to foster unity and charity among individuals and have always collaborated with all religious mother bodies in the Country in pursuit of inter-faith dialogue, promotion of the common good and rule of law, respect for human rights as well as human dignity.
The Bishops called upon all Malawians to refrain from spreading fake news through social media with the aim of provoking others and damaging the good reputation of those with different political views.
The Bishops therefore appealed for mutual respect and understanding, tolerance and peaceful co-existence among people of different religions in the country for the benefit of all.
Recalling the Pastoral Letter published in April (see Fides 30/4/2018) the Bishops said that while the Church encourages Catholics to take an active role in politics, the Catholic Bishops cannot and shall not support or endorse any particular politician or political party. They once again urged all eligible Malawians to register and vote in the forthcoming general elections scheduled for May 2019. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 17/9/2018)
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