MALAWI: Archdiocese of Blantyre Laity eyes strong self-reliant Church
The Laity in the Archdiocese of Blantyre eyes a strong Laity Council in the Archdiocese geared to have a strong resilient church through provision of support to the clergy, seminarians and catechists.
During Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at Limbe cathedral last Saturday, members of the Laity council for the Archdiocese of Blantyre disclosed a need to support the formation of priests, provision of funds to support medical scheme of priests and taking good care of their pastoral workers.
Speaking to delegates at the AGM, Vicar General for the Archdiocese of Blantyre, Father Boniface Tamani said the Archdiocese must strive for a self-reliance Church as stipulated in the Archdiocese’s Strategic Plan.
The Vicar General also advised Parish councils to be bided by policies that guide them and their employees on work contracts.
Chairperson of the Laity Council of the Archdiocese of Blantyre Mr Joseph Kachala said that members of the Council have pledged support to the Administration of the Archdiocese.
“We are looking forward to buy chairs and tents that we can be using when we have priestly ordinations and other big events in the Archdiocese. We have also planned to buy a bus for our Archdiocese,” said Kachala.
Kachala added that delegates present during the AGM have disclosed a need for Catholics in the Archdiocese to deepen their prayer life through expressing love for the Word of God.
Pastoral Secretary for the Archdiocese of Blantyre, Father Alfred Chaima applauded the AGM saying their resolutions will help in the implementation of the strategic plan of the Archdiocese.
“It is important for us as the administration of the Archdiocese and the leadership of lay people to be together and discuss issues, more especially as we implement the contents of our strategic plan which we launched last year,” said Father Chaima.Father Chaima further commended the leadership of the laity in the Archdiocese of Blantyre for being ready to serve the Church.
“We have leadership that is enthusiastic from the Parish level to serve the Church. We could see this from the reports and also their participation during the AGM,” added Father Chaima.
“We also showed them how the Archdiocese gets its funds, and we also showed them our budget and that 90 percent of our budget is funded by them and that is an indication that we doing well on self-reliance” Father Chaima added further.
During the AGM that was held at Limbe Cathedral last Saturday, delegates from all the forty-three parishes in the Archdiocese of Blantyre presented their reports and had a chance to receive a report from the Administration.
By Luke Bisani
Archdiocese of Blantyre Communications Department
