The Archbishop of Malawi’s Archdiocese of Lilongwe, George Desmond Tambala, is a worried shepherd of the flock of Christ as fewer and fewer Catholics are showing up for the sacrament of reconciliation.
The prelate publicly expressed his fears that the development could effectively negate the sacrament.
Tambala said this in homily when he ordained two priests at St. Francis (Kanengo) Parish Saturday November 30th 2025. He implored on Catholics in the archdiocese to use the all-important sacrament.
“We have parishes where the confession rooms were turned into storage rooms. Priests no longer go there because Christians are not demanding the sacrament of confession. Effectively, we are killing one of the seven sacraments in the church and we cannot do that.
“The sacrament of confession is rooted in scripture,” noted Archbishop Tambala referring to Gospel of the day taken from John 20: 19-23 where Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit into his disciples sending them “as the Father sent me” with an assurance that the sins of those they shall forgive would be forgiven.
Archbishop Tambala, therefore, urged the faithful to return to confession and always mend their relationship with God as priests “susceptible to sin too” are available for all who seek forgiveness.
“Sometimes we argue that we cannot go to confess before a priest because they are human and sin too. But in the Gospel today, Jesus is empowering the disciples to forgive sins and these disciples include Peter the disciple who denied Jesus as he faced persecution. Peter sinned but got the power to forgive.
“We all sin. Even the Pope goes for confession. We must live by sacraments. That includes confession,” said the prelate.
Archbishop Tambala on Saturday ordained to priesthood Deacon Grevazio Chikuni and Deacon Noah Silvester Kwenda at a ceremony that took place at St. Francis (Kanengo) Catholic Parish.
Fr. Chikuni, a diocesan priest, has since been assigned to serve at Namitete Parish whereas Fr. Kwenda, a member of the Missionaries of Africa, will be assigned to a country (yet to be identified) in the West Africa province.
