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Debunking the Uganda Martyrs Myth: Did these young men simply believe a lie???
Clergy blame disunity for Uganda’s underdevelopment
Publish Date: May 31, 2012
As
Uganda
gears up for the 50th independence jubilee, bishops from the Catholic, Anglican
and Orthodox faiths have called on spiritual leaders and politicians to
advocate for unity and love to promote peaceful coexistence among Ugandans.
The
bishops under Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC) came together for a prayer
pilgrimage at the Catholic and Anglican shrines in Namugongo Wednesday ahead of
Uganda Martyrs’ Day due June 3rd.
The
historic day is marked in memory of the 45 Catholic and Anglican martyrs who
were murdered on the orders of Kabaka Mwanga of Buganda for refusing to forsake
their faith between 1885 and 1886.
The
prelates observed that the country is highly polarized along religious, ethnic
and political lines.
The
clergy, who held two masses with the bishop of Masindi Kitara diocese, Stanley
Ntagali conducting one at the Catholic shrine and Kampala catholic archbishop,
Dr. Cyprian Lwanga presiding over another at the Anglican shrine partly
attributed the country's underdevelopment to disunity.
During
his sermon, Ntagali who represented the Church of Uganda
Archbishop, Henry Luke Orombi called on religious leaders to use the 50th
independence celebration to evaluate the role they have played in the
development of the country.
"We
need to ask ourselves as religious leaders what kind of Uganda we want
to see in the next 50 years and work towards achieving it," Ntagali said.
He
explained that despite worshiping one God, Christians are disunited, adding
that there is need to put their denominational differences behind them for the
betterment of the country.
Ntagali
noted that Christians need to draw inspiration from the Catholic and Anglican
martyrs who died together for their faith.
Lwanga,
during his sermon in which he explained the circumstances under which Mwanga
ordered for the killing of the martyrs, said some Christians wonder why the
clergy do not practice what they preach.
He
said many Christians have failed to demonstrate love among one another yet they
claim to love God.
"It
is so easy to love God but fail to love each other,"
Lwanga
said the example set by the Uganda
martyrs when they were bundled up and killed together should serve as a
constant reminder of the importance of unity and love.
He
said the reason why he called for the preparations for the peaceful transfer of
power to start now is because of the current state of affairs with various
ethnic groups accusing the other of exploitation.
This,
he argued was putting the unity and love among Ugandans at stake.
The
bishop of north Ankole diocese that is organizing this year's celebrations for
the Anglicans, John Muhanguzi said the church should not take sides on
political matters that divide the people.
The
bishops later held a closed-door reflection session at Namugongo.
