Acting Secretary General for the ECM, Fr. Emmanuel Chimombo said this Wednesday when CCJP held an interface meeting with all Members of Parliament that belong to the Catholic Church at Capital Hotel in Lilongwe.

The meeting was aimed at briefing the Parliamentarians on issues that affect their constituents thereby challenging them as duty bearers to take actions during this time when they are meeting for the budget session.

"This gathering is an opportune moment for us as ECM to exposes the social teachings of the Church. This is part of the Church's moral theological reflection on the complex realities of human existence in society-social, political, economic-in the light of faith, therefore, allow God to play a role in any intervention that you contribute in Parliament," said Fr. Chimombo.

Fr. Chimombo said the social teaching of the Church has a threefold task to announcing the truth about human dignity, denouncing unjust situations in society and contributing to positive changes and real human progress.

"We encourage you, our Honourable Parliamentarians to consider the plight of those affected by floods and droughts. Through this forthcoming budget deliberation currently in progress, the affected ones need to be strengthened hence resuscitating their livelihoods. Their food situation needs also to be strengthened by deliberately putting in resources that would support their winter cropping, as an example," said Fr. Chimombo.

CCJP's national programmes coordinator for governance desk, Martin Chiphwanya said the justice and peace arm of the Catholic Church in Malawi engaged both national and district Civil Society Organisations and Faith Based Organizations to assess the issues that are being impacted by the national budgetary process.

"It is therefore imperative that the Malawi government in the 2015/2016 financial year prioritizes midterm and long-term recovery plans. As such, our call is for the budget to be a recovery budget setting the tone for fiscal development in the next few years," said Chiphwanya.

Adding his voice, CCJP's national secretary, Chris Chisoni said the Catholic Church is also concerned with attacks for albinism and xenophobia that rocked the country hence the need for Parliamentarians to critically address the situation.

Speaking on behalf of fellow parliamentarians, Mangochi South Member of Parliament, Lillian Patel commended the Catholic Church through CCJP for always remembering its Christians including Catholic Parliamentarians.

"Before we all became Parliamentarians we belonged to the Catholic Church as such the Church is like our parents whose duty is to advise us so that we deliver in our constituencies. As a Catholic law marker, I will strive to follow the social teaching that the church encourages us to subscribe to," said Patel.

Other notable faces that attended that working dinner included Minister of Transport and Public Works who is also leader of the house in the national assembly Francis Kasaila, former First Lady Patricia Shannil Dzimbiri, Juliana Lunguzi, Alekeni Menyani, Harry Thomson and Ralph Jooma among others.

The event was organized in line with the Scaling up Enhanced Citizen Participation for Accountable, Transparent and Responsive Governance project which is being implemented in 12 districts across the country with support from Tilitonse Fund.