Blantyre, 11 March, 2021 / 6:00 pm (ACI Africa).
Catholic Bishops in Malawi have, in a collective message, described COVID-19 vaccine as “an act of love of our neighbor”, endorsing the administration of the batch that arrived in the country March 5.
In their March 11 statement obtained by ACI Africa, members of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) “strongly encourage all Catholics and people of goodwill that it is morally appropriate to receive the COVID-19 vaccine that Malawi has received.”
“We strongly believe that receiving the available COVID-19 vaccine must be understood as an act of charity towards other community members and considered as an act of love of our neighbor and part of our moral responsibility for the common good,” ECM members say.
In their collective statement titled, “Love does no wrong to a neighbour (Romans 13:10)”, the Bishops add, "Together with other means to stop or even prevent the COVID-19 pandemic, the common good calls for vaccination, primarily to protect the weakest and most vulnerable.”
The Bishops explain that they arrived at the decision to endorse the vaccine after “having consulted health experts, received guidance from the Decree of the President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State No. 398 (issued on 8 February 2021 on the subject of health emergencies) and having listened to the Government that it shall do its best to ensure that all eligible people in Malawi access the COVID-19 vaccine.”