The powerful Catholic Church says it will not be silenced but will continue to speak against injustices, including corruption which is worsening poverty in the country.

The president of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) Archbishop George Desmond Tambala has challenged that the Catholic Church shall always defend and speak for the voiceless, the vulnerable and the poor "no matter the circumstances".

Archbishop Tambala, who also heads the archdiocese of Lilongwe, said this on Sunday at Mpale, an outstation under St. Francis, Kanengo, Catholic Parish in Lilongwe where the Church held national commemorations of the World Day of the Poor.

The day was dedicated by Pope Francis in 2017 for Catholics worldwide to reflect on the duty of Christians to help the poor.

"The Catholic Church shall never stop speaking against injustices. We are called to be the salt of the world... .But I should also like to call on individual Catholics to stand up to injustices. Speak out. This is a Christian responsibility," he said.

His comments followed an observation from one speaker at the event who said while poverty has been around for a long time in Malawi, most of it is perpetuated by social injustices such as corruption and theft in the public service.

During the ceremony, over 150 individuals from different faith denominations who included the elderly, orphans, widows, widowers, people with disabilities and child-headed homes were handed bags of maize, beans, Likuni Phala, soap, salt, clothes and other items courtesy of the Catholic Development Commission-Cadecom, the ECM.