Bishop Mtumbuka Places Hope in Investiment for Self Reliance of the Church;Leads a Learning Tour to Tanzania
By Ephraim Nyirenda Diocesan Staff Reporter
Bishop Martin Anwel Mtumbuka of the Catholic Diocese of Karonga has assured Priests, Diocesan Staff and the entire Catholic Community of Karonga Diocese that the Church will do everything possible in making sure that it invests in short and long term projects so that it can be able to generate more income for the smooth running of the Diocese.
The Bishop was speaking to the delegation which accompanied him to appreciate what the Church is doing in terms of investments in Njombe and Songea Dioceses, after touring several projects such as Coffee and tea plantations in Tanzania.
The Bishop was accompiened by Curia Staff, Priests, Chairperson of Kakikhomele Foundation, Finance Council Members, the director and staff of Lusubilo Orphan Care in this trip.
The Bishop urged the Diocesan staff, the clergy, catechists and all church leaders to be dedicated and sacrifice themselves in all the activities that are being carried by the Diocese to achieve the vision of having a Diocese that can be self-reliant. He encouraged all to share in his vision.
His Lordship added that as a Diocese, it has a mandate to care for priests; to train seminarians in to different seminaries like Peramiho in Tanzania and Malawi which he finds it very difficult to pay for the tuition fees in all these training institutions hence the need to have long term investments.
He this acknowledged the work done by the legendary forefathers such as, Monsignor St Denis, Father Dupuis, Bishop Jobidon, Fr Zutumerk, Bishop Joseph Mukasa Zuza and others for the sacrifice they made to the Diocese of Mzuzu and part of which now is Karonga for the tireless work they did in among others putting up structures that people now use.
“We have to build the future of the Diocese of Karonga on solid foundation because I don’t want my successors to suffer because we didn’t do anything. I am not doing this for the sake of people to appraise me, but for the good of the church. All what we have planned as long as I am alive we will fulfill them with God’s help”. The Bishop emphasized.
Francis Gondwe; one of the finance council members of the Diocese who was amongst the visiting team appraised the Diocesan leader for the good vision and passion he has for his Diocese. Gondwe mentioned that the trip to Njombe and Songea Dioceses in Tanzania has been an eye opener where they have learned a lot of things that if implemented, the Catholic Diocese of Karonga will be independent soon.
Father Charles Peter Chinula and Father Joachim Mwale also asked fellow priests, the religious;men and women and the lay faithful to work with the Diocesan leadership to achieve the desired vision.
Among others, the team visited AVIV a private coffee farm which has 1200 hectares of coffee while Njombe Diocese has 600 hectares of Tea farm where according to Father Fortnatus, the Diocese harvests 9,000 kilograms of tea per year which is sold at 250 Tanzanian Shillings per kilogram.
Represantavives from Caritas Commision, Lusubilo Orphan Care, Vocation Director, chairperson of Kajikhomere Trust and one from Tuntufye Radio were among the 16 delegates who went to Tanzania on a six day visit.
Bishop Mtumbuka Opens St. Ignatius Secondary School; Urges Learners to Trust in God for Everything
Bishop Martin Mtumbuka of the Diocese of Karonga has today 30th October, 2017, officially opened St. Ignatius Secondary School in Nthalire.
The Bishop has encourage the pioneering students at the school to always place their trust in God for everything in their lives. ‘Dont let anything, be it poverty or riches, separate you from your God. He is the source of true happiness’ said Bishop Mtumbuka.
The Bishop also expressed his gratitude to all people who made the building of the school a success such as, the the donors and government.
In his remarks, the chairperson of the main funding institution Mr Markus Schwabe expressed thanks to the Bishop for the welcome and a nice school that has been built. Mr Schwabe called for partnership and friendship and said that the building of this school was just the beggining of this relationship.
Represeting government, the EDM expressed government satification with what the Catholic Church is doing in Malawi in supporting government in its development agenda.
The opening ceremony was colorfully organised, opening with a tour of the campus, a holy mass, speeches and artistic performances by the learners.
St Ignatius Secondary School opened in September 2017 and has 106 learners
The Catholic Church Calls on its Faithful to be Salt and Light in Politics and Public Life
By Mwawi Shaba
The Catholic Church in Malawi through its Parliamentary Liaison Office (PLO) has called on all Catholics in Malawi to be interested and get involved in politics and public life.
The call was made by both Fr Joseph Sikwese, the Pastoral Secretary in Karonga Diocese, and Fr Henry Chinkanda; the Parliamantary Liaison Oifficer of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) at St. Mary’s Parish Hall on 28th October, 2017 during a one day sharing on this subject.
Fr Sikwese pointed out that for the country to develop it requires to have drivers who are committed to principles of common good. If good people take part in running the affairs of the state good outcomes are expected. Catholic faithful should and are expected to be salt and light of the political field if they bring the Chritian values in the political and public arena.
According to Fr Chinkanda, the Church has been compelled to encourage its faithful to get involved in politics and public life observing that very few of them have actively participated in it. Where they have, they have just been voters during elections which is not good enough. It is hoped therefore that if more Catholic get involved in politics, they can exert posisitive influence towards the development of the country and help transform the political landscape for the betterment of Malawians.
He argued that by doing this, the Church is not trying to form a political party as some have feared because the Church has people from different political groups in the country.
Participants at the event appreciated the gesture by the Church to engaging them on this subject
The meeting was well attended by over 120 Catholics both men and women.
Community Structures Strives to End Violence against Women and Girls in Nthalire and Wenya
By Vincent Bwinga
In the quest of promoting the rights of women and girls on Community Managed Women Rights Advocacy Project (CMWRA) being implemented in T/A Nthalire and Mwenewenya in Chitipa District, community structures such as Area development committee, Justice and Peace committee, Women rights groups members, Women groups, Chiefs, Community police, Police, women forums strives to end violence against women and girls in the area. The aforementioned structures held a coordinated meeting in the two T/As to take a leading role in addressing act of violence against women and girls such as battering, sexual violence such as defilement of girls and forced early marriage of girls resulting to a large number of teenager mothers which are rampant in the area.
During the meeting it was observed that despite, several stakeholders working in promoting rights of women in the area but lack of forums where these structures could meet and strategies responsibilities, efforts to end violence were just missing point. Therefore community structures among other resolutions, agreed to reinforce by-laws that were developed in recent years in protecting women and girl’s rights and also they developed a working action plan. It was also resolved that, such meeting will be conducted each and every month so that they can be sharing reports success and challenges from different areas.
Speaking during the meeting Traditional Authority Mwenewenya applauded the gathering as one of the best way to move forward in dealing out with cases of violence against women and girls. The T/A encouraged all structures to take a leading role in reporting all cases of violence to relevant authority and he asked them to be observing monthly meetings where he promised to be available all time these structures will be meeting.
The meeting was attended by 120 members from different community structures in Thumbo, wenya, Nthalire and Chisenga and it was orchestrated by the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) through its Community Managed Women Rights Advocacy Project funded by Catholic Agency for Oversea Development (CAFOD)
Bishop Mtumbuka Joins the 75th Aniversally Cerebration of Edith Stein; Encourages Increased Collaboration Between Malawi and German Youth
By Mwawi Shaba (In Darmstadt-Germany)
Bishop Martin Mtumbuka of Karonga Diocese, who is currently visiting Germany; on 5th and 6th October, 2017, joined the community of Edith Stein School in Darmstandt, Germany for the 75th commemoration of Edith Stein after which the school is named.
Edith Stein was a German Jewish Philosopher who converted to Roman Catholicism and became a Discalced Carmelite nun. She is canonized by the Church as a martyr and saint of the Catholic Church after she was killed at the Auschwitz concentration camp.
At the prayers and mass to commemorate the day, Bishop Mtumbuka encouraged the young students at the school to always guard against the external influences that can poison their hearts. He preached about repaying bad provocation with love other than retribution, just as Edith Stein always did.
2The Bishop also encouraged cooperation between the students in Germany and Malawi, especially those from Edith Stein School and Karonga Diocese Schools of St. Mary’s Karonga Girls and Chaminade which he argued are beneficial for learners from both Malawi and Germany.
Apart from mass, the celebration was ambelished by art, music, dance and sports done by the students and meetings with teachers and management.
Bishop Mtumbuka accompanied by Fr Joseph Sikwese (Pastoral Secretary) and Mr Mwawi Shaba (Caritas Secretary) is visiting Gemany where they are meeting with various partners of the Diocese in Germany.