Mr Francis Ojok, a teacher and concerned Catholic from Gulu Archdiocese in northern Uganda, is concerned with the silence of the Catholic Church about the widespread corruption in Uganda.
The heartbroken faithful resorted to expressing his disappointment by writing to the Archbishop of the Kampala Archdiocese, His Grace Paul Ssemogerere.
He highlights that everyday, the country wakes up with a new corruption scandal involving billions of shillings which would be helping Ugandans out of suffering but the voice of the catholic church has remained low in condemning the distressing matter that has crippled the nation in several sectors.
Restricting his letter to the recent scandal of parliamentary commissioners that pocketed the Shs1.7 billion as service award, the teacher is surprised by the anticipated Thanksgiving Mass organized by the former of leader of opposition, Hon Mathias Mpuuga, which he alleges that the event is aimed at sanitizing the corruption scandal.
“To my surprise, recently while addressing the media regarding the forthcoming thanksgiving mass for hon Mpuuga, the chairperson of the organizing committee ‘Pastor’ Abed Bwanika informed the nation that the catholic church would preside over the mass,” read Mr Ojok’s letter in part.
“As a catholic, I am concerned that such an act would drag the church into the center of this scandal and compromise its position as a moral voice in our society,” he wrote in the letter dated June, 10, 2024, which was received by the Kampala Archdiocese Chancery – Lubaga.
He said there have also been questions as to why the Catholic Church, which has always been vocal on matters of concern has this time been conspicuously silent on such a matter.
“Is it because the person at the centre of this scandal is a Muganda just like the Archbishop? If this scandal involved someone from Northern Uganda, would the church be this silent?” he questioned.
He further asked that; “Does the Catholic Church in Uganda only find corruption wrong when the persons involved are from other tribes?”
He appealed to the Archbishop to exercise his apostolic authority to prevail on all Catholic priests not to participate Mpuuga’s thanksgiving mass.
The church member argued that; “If they are to do so, it should be preceded by a commitment from Mr Mpuuga to repent and seek forgiveness before God and Ugandans whose money were stole.”
He said the Catholic Church would be risking to lose its credibility as a voice of morality if it is seen to condone corruption and give cover to persons seeking to sanitize themselves after stealing from the poor.
Mr Ojok’s concern comes at a time when legislators at the parliamentary avenue are fearing arrests over corruption tendencies. So far, three lawmakers, including Paul Akamba, Yusuf Mutembuli, and Prossy Namujju, are facing charges of corruption in courts of law.
The letter is here below
