MALAWI: Covid-19 Has Disturbed Spiritual Life of Christians, ECM Social Communications Coordinator
By Watipaso Mzungu
The Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM), National Social Communications Coordinator Rev. Fr Godino Phokoso has lamented that the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the spiritual life of the Catholics in the country and globally.
Fr Godino Phokoso has also expressed fear that the pandemic could potentially threaten the faith many Catholics in the long run.
He made the remarks in Lilongwe on Saturday when he opened a day-long training on Covid-19 which was organized by the Association for Catholic Journalists (ACJ) with funding from Trocaire.
“We are all affected by this pandemic. The number of cases globally is a cause for worry for us as Catholics. Already there are confirmed cases here in Malawi. The pandemic is causing lot of anxiety in the Catholic Church because the church values the sanctity of life. As such, any loss of life is a huge loss to the family of God,” he said.
“Moreover, this pandemic has disturbed the whole liturgical life in the Catholic Church through the government and Church directives such as suspension of Mass gatherings. The thousands of people who have died due to Covid-19 threatens us all,” Phokoso insisted.
He has implored all Catholic journalists to assume the role of foot soldiers for the Church and disseminate credible and factual information to avoid raising unnecessary public alarm in relation to the pandemic.
“I would like to thank Trocaire, for the financial support towards this very important training on Covid-19 pandemic. We appreciate the team that came up with this initiative that we should be drilled on issues concerning the Coronavirus and Covid-19,” stressed Phokoso.
ACJ Central Region chapter chairperson, Sam Kalimba, said the training has given them confidence to write stories that can help in the fight against the disease.
Kalimba also asked the journalists to avoid sensational reporting to avoid terrifying the faithful.
“The training has set a pace for the Catholic journalists to report aggressively on the pandemic. However, I urge you my fellow ACJ members that we should not terrify the people through our reporting. We should not terrify the faithful. It’s our duty to encourage their faith by the stories that we are telling,” he said.
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