Malawi Catholic Church suspends some rites amid Covid-19

Malawi Catholic bishops have suspended public memorial masses and tombstone unveiling as one of the preventive measures against Covid-19 pandemic.

Malawi Catholic Bishops discourage overnight religious singing and gatherings s

The bishops have issued a number of measures contained in their statement released  on Friday. The statement comes at the end of their first plenary for this year.

The bishops have also suspended public and traditional celebrations of Initiation Rites.

They further discourage overnight religious singing and gatherings such as those done during funerals.

The bishops’ have also guided that every diocese should have a Covid 19 isolation and treatment centre where the clergy will go and have Covid 19 test and receive care and treatment.

The bishops also warn priests to stop avoiding their colleagues who test positive to Covid-19.

“The priests and the Religious shall refrain from showing any signs of discrimination and stigmatization of any confrere suspected of Covid-19,” reads the statement signed by all the six bishops and two diocesan administrators for Lilongwe and Dedza led by president of the Episcopal Conference Malawi Archbishop Thomas Msusa.

The bishops also caution priests to avoid living careless lives so that they do not get infected and affect others.

Reads the statement: “The priests and the Religious shall strictly adhere to Covid-19 preventive measures to protect themselves and others, any form of careless and selfish behaviour capable of spreading the virus must stop forthwith.”

According to the statement, priests and the Religious with underlying health conditions shall be identified and isolated from active communities.

The elderly are also dispensed from the obligation of attending Sunday mass.

The ECM wants to see churches and all places of worship and microphones disinfected after every period of use.

The church calls on the Catholics to pray to God for intervention to bring an end to the pandemic.

The measures are in addition to the previous ones given by the bishops through their statements issued on April 16 and May 8, 2020

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Mulopwana
3 years ago

Ma priest .used end all relationships with girlfriends around the mission. Kukwata kwabasi amsembe eeeshi mmhxie

Citizen
3 years ago

The problem we have in Malawi is ensuring and monitoring adherence to these guidelines. The bishops strongly endorced and recommended the 50 people maximum in churches but what is happening on the ground is very pathetic, shameful and hypocritic. In some churches priests are being forced by some semi- educated leaders to ignore these recommendations and in the process putting so many lives in danger. We are living in very difficult times which call for tough decisions as examplified by these men of God. It’s just unfortunate that we are allowing some misguided individuals to mislead us.

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