ACI Africa, Dec 20, 2023 / 12:50 pm
Bishops in Malawi have prohibited the implementation of the Vatican declaration on the blessing of “same-sex couples” and couples in other “irregular situations,” Fiducia Supplicans, which the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) released Dec. 18.
In a two-page statement dated Dec. 19, members of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) offered “clarification on the declaration on the pastoral meaning of blessings, Fiducia Supplicans” and stated that they prohibit the practice of such blessings in the southern African nation.
“We direct that for pastoral reasons, blessings … for same-sex unions of any kind are not permitted in Malawi,” ECM members said in their collective statement.
The Church leaders’ directive prohibiting the blessings “for same-sex unions of any kind” in the country follows a four-point clarification of the latest Vatican declaration.