MALAWI: Be Obedient Bishop Mtumbuka Tells New Deacons
Some of the Deacons who were ordained during the Celebration
The Vice chairman of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) and the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Karonga Rt. Rev. Martin Anwell Mtumbuka has urged the newly ordained deacons to be always obedient to their superiors and the entire Catholic Church.
Speaking on Saturday, 19th May, 2018 in Zomba after deaconate ordination of 12 seminarians, Bishop Mtumbuka noted with regret that, misconduct and disobedience of some clergy men are tinting the church’s image sounding out a warning that such behaviours will not be tolerated in the church.
The Bishop said, “I will not hesitate to point out, the disobedience and misconduct of some priests, we found ourselves in difficult situations sometimes as Bishops due to a priests’ disobedience. This is not the order in the Catholic Church and it must stop.”
He added that, “If you know you can’t be obedient enough please, the door is open leave now, go and find yourself another life. Jesus was obedient to God, and you shall also be to your superiors.”
Bishop Mtumbuka also advised the newly ordained deacons and all priests to live a model life and to avoid a scandalous life which may lead to loose of faith in some Christians pleading with the young deacons to be exemplary at all cost in their vocational life to help people find salvation.
“What you do, should reflect your vocational life. My brothers and sisters if we are not careful Christians will run away from our church, because we are living a bad example, at all cost refrain from scandalous life,” he said.
He encouraged the clergy to embrace prayer to shield them from falling into temptations. “We can avoid all these things through prayer, a priest who does not pray cannot succeed in his ministry, Jesus prayed at all times. I urge you to be prayerful so that you can serve God properly”.
Bishop Mtumbuka also urged parents and family members, to change the mind-set of high expectation of financial support once a deacon is ordained a priest stating that, such mentality drives most priests into financial difficulties which deteriorates their effort to evangelize.
The 12 new deacons awaiting priestly ordination come from different parishes of Arch diocese of Blantyre and Lilongwe, Karonga, Zomba, Dedza and Chikwawa dioceses.
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By Augustine Kambuzi Banda
