It is "thanks to the strength of the family that Malawians daily deal with the great challenges of poverty and AIDS, which are still very present in the country." Msgr. Joseph Mukasa Zuza, Bishop of Mzuzu and President of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi, said this at the Bishops‘ meeting with the Pontifical Council for the Family during their Ad Limina Visit.
 
The Malawian Church has enormous prestige in this small southern African country since 1993, when the Pastoral Letter of the Bishops "Living our Faith" launched the process of democratic reforms that led to the end of Hastings Banda‘s dictatorial regime. Since then, the voice of the Catholic Church is one of the most respected in the society.
Bishop Zuza said that the entire Church in Malawi feels like a family, and that every diocese is enthusiastically considering how to respond to Pope Francis‘ call for a broad reflection on the main challenges presented by today’s society. Among these is the issue of polygamy: the Bishops reiterated that the family is made up of one man and one woman.