MALAWI: Catholicism Without Borders – Says Lilongwe’s Prison Chaplain
Fr. Peter Muwanga (R) with Henry Machilika at Maula Prison in Lilongwe
Sam Kalimba
The Archdiocesan Chaplain for Prisons in the Catholic Archdiocese of Lilongwe Father Peter Muwanga has reiterated the need to practice Catholicism without borders. He said this at one of the prisons in the Archdiocese where Catholic Men Organization (CMO) under St. John Paul II Small Christian Community in the Archdiocese went to donate sanitary items after praying with the inmates on 26 March, 2023.
Fr Peter Muwanga urged the inmates to demonstrate good behaviour to the prison authorities and to their fellow inmates to show that they are indeed practicing Catholicism as a sign of being reformed.
“We have heard in our first reading that Ezekiel gives a prophesy, that the Lord God will open our graves, and will bring us out of our sepulchers, and will bring us into the land of freedom (Israel). And in the Gospel, we see Jesus resurrecting his dear friend Lazarus from the dead at a hopeless hour, when his body started rotting. This why I urge you not to relent but be steady fast in holding our faith until we receive the salvation. Catholicism has everything everyone needs at any place including here where we are,” preached Fr. Muwanga.
The CMO leader Boniface Chibwana who is also the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace at the Episcopal Conference of Malawi said in his handover speech that the inmates’ incarceration has a purpose. And that purpose is to prepare them for a greater commission to serve the Lord when their correctional sentence is over. He also said that their visit was aimed at reminding the inmates about the God’s unwavering love for mankind.
He said further they were particularly mesmerized by the level of faith the inmates demonstrated during the celebration of the mass.
“We’ve seen people who have firm faith in God despite being imprisoned. We are particularly inspired to see that you continue celebrating mass and receive the Holy Eucharist. This is very important for you as you serve your time here, the Catholicity you preserve in here is thrilling,” he said.
Chibwana assured that the men he leads will continue visiting and ministering to the inmates both in spirit and body.
Chairperson for the inmates Henry Machilika thanked the CMO for the visit and donation of soap worth 300 thousand Malawi Kwacha. He stated that the donation would go all the way to addressing the hygiene problems among the inmates.
On his part, Prison warder Chaplain Sergeant Maxwell Kagame expressed the prison management’s gratitude to the CMO for the support to the inmates.
The Prison Chaplaincy of the Archdiocese of Lilongwe oversees two prisons in Lilongwe and one in Kasungu.
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