Category Archives: Religion

MY HOMILY ON TWENTY EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Leave a reply

From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

The message of today’s firs reading taken from1 2 Kgs 5:14-17 is similar to that of last Sunday. Like Habakkuk, Prophet Elisha is proving to Naaman that it is the living God that cures and not idol, ‘god’ made by human beings.

Immediately Elisha prayed to God that Naaman’s leprosy be cured the miracle happened. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean of his leprosy. Naaman returned God and said: “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel”.

Elisha and Elijah were God’s messengers during this time of apostasy and idolatry. Elijah was the prophet to the northern kingdom. He confronted King Ahab and Jezebel, the high priestess of Baal worship. He told them that God’s judgment was on them for corrupting Israel and leading them astray. And that it would not rain until they turned back to God.

We may infer from this verse that Elisha also suffered previous illnesses, from which he recovered. This in itself was a miracle – we should not take healing even from colds and chills for granted! Until the time of Elisha there was no such thing as someone who was sick being healed – until Elisha came and begged for mercy and was healed.

Second reading is taken from 2 Tm 2:8-13. Paul encourages Timothy to endure suffering. Some of us don’t believe we have to suffer that is why sometimes we runaway from God’s divine intervention and look for shortcuts where our problems can be solved quickly.

That is why those who think that faith in Jesus will exempt them from suffering are in for a shock. God called you to endure suffering because Christ suffered for you. He left you an example so that you could follow in his footsteps (1 Peter 2:21).

Job suffered a great deal but he never cursed God’ name or accuse God of injustice but rather seeks an explanation or an account of what he did wrong. Even when his wife (Job 2:9) suggested that Job should curse God and die, Job endured suffering.

Scripture exhorts us to endure suffering and hardships in life. If we are going to live in faithfulness to what we believe, then we will experience some rejections, some difficulties, some pressure, and even some persecution. That is the Christian life.

For if we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

Though Timothy was Paul’s trusted co-worker, he had weaknesses that Paul was trying to help him overcome. One of these was to shy away from suffering and hardship.

The Gospel is taken from Lk 17:11-19. As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” And when he saw them, he said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.”
As they were going they were cleansed.

And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus said in reply, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” Then he said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”

Leprosy is not only a terrible disease that causes a person’s body parts to slowly rot away, lepers in Jesus’ day were outcasts of society, and no one wanted to be near them. Lepers often lose their fingers and toes, and eventually the disease kills them. It is very contagious and is spread by touch.

What we learn from these ten lepers is that their faith was evident by their calling out to Jesus to be healed. For that reason, when Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priests, they obeyed.

Under the Law of Moses, before a cleansed leper could begin normal interaction with non-leprous people, he had to be examined by a priest and declared cleansed of his leprosy. That is what Jesus was requiring the ten lepers to do, and so they started off on about 30-mile journey to Jerusalem.

They must have believed that they would be better by the time they got to the priests, and as they acted on their faith, they were! For this reason, we can conclude that all ten were healed through their faith in Jesus.

One leper who returned to give Jesus thanks was a Samaritan. His faith was actually more impressive than the faith of the other nine. This happened because Jews and Samaritans had no dealings with one another in Jesus’ time.

He would have been tempted to doubt the wisdom of obeying Jesus’ instructions to show himself to the priests. He knew the priests would probably have nothing to do with him. But he obeyed Jesus anyway and was healed.

This pleased our Lord and led Him to remark on the ingratitude of the others. “Were not all ten made whole, where are the other nine?”

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ
UN Disarmament
Conference, 2002

SHOULD POPE FRANCIS ALLOW POLYGAMOUS TO RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION?

1 Reply

From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013

Rev Solomon from USA writes: “I am a conservative Evangelical saved in 1965, ordained Pastor and Minister for the Gospel and family man. I am capable of reading Greek and Hebrew like any modern scholar today. I know myself stuff.

Since Pope Francis was chosen to lead the Church, I have watched his leadership style-he is leading the church in the right direction. I agree with his 10 reasons of observation:

1. The Church no longer offers anything meaningful or important.
2. The Church appears too weak.
3. The Church appears too distant from their needs.
4. The Church appears too poor to respond to their concerns.
5. The Church appears too cold.
6. The Church appears too caught up with itself.
7. The Church appears to be a prisoner of its own rigid formulas.
8. The world seems to have made the Church a relic of the past.
9. The Church appears unfit to answer the world’s new questions.
10. The Church speaks to people in their infancy but not when they come of age.

It is also a spiritual problem within the Evangelicals. I find it hard to understand the daily spiritual life of a local pastor or bishop in Kenya”.

Eugene from Jinja, Uganda writes: “Fr Omolo Beste I read with great interest your news dispatch on the concern of Sr Veronica about Pope Francis move to make the Catholic Church active and above all even to allow divorced and remarried Catholics to receive the Holy Communion. I know many conservative bishops, especially from Africa will not agree with him but to me he is the best pope so far.

In Africa the problem of polygamists refused to receive the Holy Communion, do you think in any given time this pope will allow polygamists, especially in Africa where the number seem to be to receive the communion?”

Both Solomon and Eugene have expressed fear that conservative bishops may not welcome Pope Francis move, Solomon is even more particular, the pastors and bishops in Kenya.

I may add here that it is not only pastors or bishops who may not be pleased with Pope Francis move towards making the church look active and be people’s church and no the one owned by the priests and bishops but also conservative Christians may not welcome his idea at all.

Whether Pope Francis may allow polygamous to receive the Holy Communion is something we should wait to see. However, as members of the Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist amended and refined their final list of propositions to present to Pope Benedict XVI, the fact that one proposition on the Eucharist and polygamy did appear in a revised draft is already an indication that some African bishops would love to see polygamous receive the Holy Communion.

Cardinal Peter Turkson of Cape Coast, Ghana was even more practical. He proposed that the church’s teaching on marriage which requires that those entering the church break off polygamous relationships before receiving the sacraments be amended.

“You cannot simply say (to the man), ‘just let the others go and take the first wife,’ because that becomes an issue of justice. If there are children involved, you just cannot send away somebody,” Cardinal Turkson told reporters in an Oct. 18 press conference.

Sometimes a man wishing to break off his polygamous relationships is able to ensure the financial security of the women he is leaving; in some instances, he “can set up a small business for the wife and let her go,” he said.

“But then you have not taken care of another need (of hers), and that is the need for a sexual partner,” he added.

The cardinal said the church does not want to force celibacy on others, nor does it want to “expose them to prostitution” or “a loose type of living.”

The individuals involved have to decide if the woman would “be free to go and look for” another husband, he said, though when the woman is “at middle age it’s sometimes difficult” for her to find another spouse.

He said if couples decide to remain in their polygamous relationships, then the church in Ghana tries to offer them “spiritual communion until a clear solution” is found.

In an interview with Archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria and president of SECAM, the symposium that brings together the Episcopal Conferences of Africa, John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan who also took part in the Synod as a pontifical appointee argued:

“We have become accustomed to saying that there are sinners that must not approach the Eucharist. And generally those spoken of, in the West, are remarried divorcees and, in the mission countries, polygamists.

There was wonder about whether these are the only serious sins. The divorcee may not receive communion, but can the oppressor, the exploiter, the politician responsible for the suffering and death of thousands of people who receive?”

During the second African synod deliberations in Rome, a lot of issues on this subject of polygamy emerged. There were some bishops who felt strongly that the Catholic Church in Africa needs to make special provisions for women who want to join the church, but are denied the sacraments because they are in polygamous marriages.

Bishop Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi of Sunyani, Ghana told the Synod of Bishops for Africa Oct. 8 that, because of a tradition established long before Christianity arrived on the continent, “many African women find themselves in polygamous marriages through, even though it is no fault of their own.

Bishop Gyamfi said the church’s practice of baptizing married people and admitting them to the other sacraments only if they are part of a monogamous relationship creates enormous difficulties for many women in Africa.

“The church needs to address this painful and unpleasant situation in Africa by giving some special privileges to women” who “through no fault of their own have become victims of polygamous marriages,” the bishop said.

Especially if they have children, women in polygamous marriages face social rejection and serious economic hardship if they try to end their relationships with their husbands, the bishop said.

In addition, he said, “in cases where women have walked away without the consent of the husbands and the extended families, the church has been cited for injustice, insecurity, breaking up families, fomenting disunity and destroying social cohesion.”

The real difficulties for the women and their children have discouraged many women from formally joining the church, Bishop Gyamfi said.

“The result is that, in some parts of Africa, many women attend church regularly and actively participate in all church activities, but are denied the sacraments of initiation, reconciliation and marriage,” not to mention “the many denied fitting Christian burial for not being baptized,” he said.

Receiving the women into the church without making them leave their husbands “will enable them to share in the peace and reconciliation offered by the compassion and peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ who came to call sinners and not the self-righteous,” Bishop Gyamfi said.

When it came to deliberation and voting majority of the bishops voted against it, even though most of African bishops come from polygamous families. We are only waiting whether the pope will one time deliberate on the issue.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ
UN Disarmament
Conference, 2002

SPECIAL SYNOD THAT MAY SEE DIVORCED RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION

Leave a reply

From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013

Sr. Veronica from Nairobi, Kenya writes: “Father Omolo I watched on EWT News flash yesterday that Pope Francis has called for an extraordinary synod in October 2014 to discuss the subject of the family.

The extraordinary synod will see heads of Eastern churches, presidents of the bishops’ conferences, and heads of Curia offices gather at the Vatican from October 5 – 19 for a meeting entitled “Pastoral Challenges of the Family in Context of Evangelisation”.

That the pope wants to unify church teaching about marriage, divorce and remarried Catholics to receive Holy Communion. Annulments also he says “has to be reviewed, because ecclesiastical tribunals are not sufficient for this. Can you help understand this father?”

Thank you Sr. Veronica for raising this important issue. Yes, Pope Francis has called for special synod of about 150 synod fathers who will take part in the session, compared with about 250 bishops who attended the three-week ordinary general assembly on the new evangelisation in October 2012.

According to the Code of Canon Law, an “extraordinary general session” of the synod is held to “deal with matters which require a speedy solution.” This will be only the third extraordinary synod since Pope Paul VI reinstituted synods in 1965, to hold periodic meetings to advise him on specific subjects.

A 1969 extraordinary session was dedicated to improving cooperation between the Holy See and national bishops’ conferences; and a 1985 extraordinary session, dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the end of the Second Vatican Council, recommended the compilation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which was published seven years later.

Pope Francis has realized that the pastoral care of marriage is complex. Such problems, he says, exemplified a general need for forgiveness in the Church today. “The Church is a mother, and she must travel this path of mercy, and find a form of mercy for all,” the Pope adds.

This synod fulfills what he had told reporters accompanying him on his plane back from Rio de Janeiro in July that the next synod would explore a “somewhat deeper pastoral care of marriage,” including the question of the eligibility of divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion.

A recently translated book by Pope Francis also exhibits a call for Catholics who have been divorced and are remarried to be made welcome in parishes, in the hope that they can remedy their situations.

“Catholic doctrine reminds its divorced members who have remarried that they are not excommunicated — even though they live in a situation on the margin of what indissolubility of marriage and the sacrament of marriage require of them — and they are asked to integrate into the parish life,” he says in his newly translated book On Heaven and Earth.

On Heaven and Earth (Spanish: Sobre el cielo y la tierra) is a book that presents conversations between Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, who later became Pope Francis, and Argentine rabbi Abraham Skorka. The book is about faith, family and the Catholic Church in the 21st century. It was first published in Spanish in 2010 and appeared in an English translation in 2013.

Speaking on the New Evangelization, and using the Emmaus Journey as a framework, the Pope encouraged his listeners to reflect on why people reject the Church today—why, like the Emmaus disciples, they decide to walk the other way. To bring people back to Christ and his Church, we must understand why they leave in the first place.

To that end, Pope Francis offered ten specific reasons:

1. The Church no longer offers anything meaningful or important.
2. The Church appears too weak.
3. The Church appears too distant from their needs.
4. The Church appears too poor to respond to their concerns.
5. The Church appears too cold.
6. The Church appears too caught up with itself.
7. The Church appears to be a prisoner of its own rigid formulas.
8. The world seems to have made the Church a relic of the past.
9. The Church appears unfit to answer the world’s new questions.
10. The Church speaks to people in their infancy but not when they come of age.

Faced with this situation we need a Church unafraid of going forth into their night. We need a Church capable of meeting them on their way. We need a Church capable of entering into their conversation.

We need a Church able to dialogue with those disciples who, having left Jerusalem behind, are wandering aimlessly, alone, with their own disappointment, disillusioned by a Christianity now considered barren, fruitless soil, incapable of generating meaning.”

On celibacy, Francis upholds the existing rule in the Western church but also hints at openness to reconsidering things down the line. “It is an issue of discipline, not of faith,” he says. “It can be changed.”

Pope holds the opinion that Religion has a right to give an opinion as long as it is in service to the people. We have also to help the poor. A poor man must not be looked at with disgust; he must be looked at in the eyes.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ
UN Disarmament
Conference, 2002

WE LIVE IN THE WORLD WHERE PEOPLE CREATE THEIR OWN ‘GODS’

Leave a reply

From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

George from Kisii has written a very touching email. He is wondering where the world is headed to, cardinals, bishops, priests lobby for homosexuality in Vatican, some religious kill innocent people, burn churches in the name of God, politicians go there own way, everyone the same.

An American journalist specialized in American politics and society, Christopher Lynn “Chris” Hedges tries to answer some of these questions in some of his best quotes. This is because we live in the world where people create their own ‘gods’, faith and religions.

The world where people destroy their own health and run to their doctors to perform miracles, and when cures come slow they blame the doctors for not caring enough, the world where lawyers tell lie in court, and where impunity destroys justice.

The world full of vanity- it is the excessive belief in one’s own abilities or attractiveness to others, a form of self-idolatry, in which one likens their self to the greatness of God for the sake of their own image.

The world where people elect bad governments, corrupt leaders, criminals, exploiters without thought, thus making them despotic, crony hence destroying their own freedom and then they complain about their bad leadership, only to re-elect them for another term come another general elections.

We live in the world where education is about training and “success”, defined monetarily, rather than learning to think critically and to challenge change, make minds, not careers. We live in the world where we just accept the system handed to us and seek to find a comfortable place within it.

We live in the world where fear stops us from objecting to government spending on a bloated military. Fear means we will not ask unpleasant questions of those in power. Fear permits the government to operate in secret.

Fear means we are willing to give up our rights and liberties for promises of security. The imposition of fear ensures that the corporations that wrecked the country cannot be challenged. Fear keeps us penned in like livestock.

Our nation has been hijacked by oligarchs, corporations, and a narrow, selfish, political, and economic elite, a small and privileged group that governs, and often steals, on behalf of moneyed interests.

The world where the liberal church is largely middle class, bourgeois phenomenon, filled with many people who have profited from industrialization and global capitalism. The world where instead religion should fight for justice, standing up for the voiceless and the weak, reaching out in acts of kindness and compassion to the stranger and the outcast, living a life of simplicity, cultivating empathy and defying the powerful, it wounds its own sheep.

We need religion Pope Francis defines as providing mentorship. A religion that leads you to believe in God and do what God commands. You don’t believe in a Muslim God or a Catholic God, Anglican, SDA, Baptist, Pentecost, etc, there is no God for these sects, but God, the Father, Abba, the light and the Creator of us all to continue His creation here on earth in doing what is right.

Pope is talking here of a religion that leads us to love people before trying to save them. We need to get to know each other, listen to each other and improve our knowledge of the world around us.

Religion is not about going to church, synagogue, a mosque, etc. It is about doing the will of the Father (Mt 12:50). For Christians Christ’s preaching was plain, easy, and familiar.

Christ was so intent on his work, that no natural or other duty took him from it. Not that, under pretence of religion, but of doing the will of His father. “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, is my brother, and sister, and mother”.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002

TWENTY SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Leave a reply

From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2013

In today’s first reading taken from Hb 1:2-3; 2:2-4 Prophet Habakkuk condemns political intrigue and idolatry. The prophet is arguing with God about this state of affairs—why should God allow these things to happen? God tells him, he has prepared a severe punishment for Judah and its wicked inhabitants but the just will be saved.

Habakkuk is not talking of the use of statues, relics, and other articles as our Catholic friends and family members have been indoctrinated to believe that the use of statues, relics, and other articles is acceptable and even necessary for worship. These images and icons are used in the church not actually “worshiped” but are simply “visual aids” to worship.

The idolatry Habakkuk is talking of here has at its core the three lusts found in 1 John 2:16: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”

In the Bible to be idolatrous or worship idol is to believe in witchcraft or hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, and factions. Use of strange powers, fighting, desire for what another has, angry feelings, attempts to get the better of others, divisions, false teachings.

It is also identified with drug use and casting spells, hate, losing your temper, conflict, involvement with the occult, factionalism, intrigue, making people angry with each other, causing divisions among people.

When people are afflicted by such misfortunes as ill-health, poverty, unemployment, infertility and poor crops, instead of seeking earthly solutions, instead want spiritual intervention.

Our hearts and minds must be centered on God and on others. This is why when asked what is the greatest commandment, Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). When we love the Lord and others with everything that is in us, there will be no room in our hearts for idolatry.

If we take care and companionship to the lonely, especially the elderly create system that can enable young people to get employments, to change a global economic system that puts people in hardship and miserable life.

The second reading is from 2 Tm 1:6-8, 13-14. In it Paul is encouraging Timothy the need to continue preaching and preserving the faith which he had learned from his father-in-Christ. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.

So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord. You should bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard this rich trust with the help of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.

Paul exhorts Christians to “walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). The main reason why so many Christians struggle with a lack of faith is because we follow our perceptions of what is true rather than what we know to be true by faith.

Faith is not belief without proof, or belief despite the evidence, rather faith is a complete trust or confidence in someone or something. That trust or confidence we have in someone is built up over time as they prove themselves faithful time and time again.

The Gospel is taken from Lk 17:5-10. It tells of the story where the apostles said to the Lord to increase their faith. The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

Scriptures about faith teach us to hold our faith in Jesus Christ in hope for eternal life. The scriptures also tell us to put our faith in action and to share faith with others. This is because as Paul tells us in Rom. 10:10, faith is tied to love, because love itself brings enlightenment.” It is love that opens the eyes of the mind.

Yet most of us are inclined to forget God and his providence when our earthly affairs are going well. How often do we thank him when we are enjoying good health, and when our home-life and business are going smoothly?

In most cases it is only when a storm arises in our lives that we think of God and prayer. Jesus wants us to have faith all the times, whether we are in good health, terrorist attacks, rich or poor.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ
UN Disarmament
Conference, 2002

THE HOLY AND SINFUL CHURCH

Leave a reply

From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste

BY CHRISPIN ONYANGO
NAIROBI, KENYA
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2013

Following the mess going on in the Roman curia I have this to share with my fellow faithful: The Church is holy and sinful. In the “Creed,” after having professed: “I believe in one Church,” we add the adjective “Holy”; that is, we affirm the sanctity of the Church.

This is a characteristic that has been present since the beginning in the consciousness of the first Christians, who called themselves simply “the saints” (cf. Acts 9:13.32.41; Romans 8:27; 1 Corinthians 6:1), because they had the certainty that it is the action of God, the Holy Spirit that sanctifies the Church.

However, in what sense is the Church Holy if we see that the historical Church, in her long journey through the centuries, has had so many difficulties, problems and dark moments?

How can a Church be Holy which is made up of human beings, of sinners? Sinful men, sinful women, sinful priests, sinful Sisters, sinful Bishops, sinful Cardinals, sinful Pope — all are so. How can such a Church be Holy?

To answer the question I would like to be guided by a passage of the Letter of Saint Paul to the Christians of Ephesus. Taking as examples family relations, the Apostle states that “Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her” (5:25-26). Christ loved the Church giving himself wholly on the cross.

And this means that the Church is Holy because she comes from God who is Holy, who is faithful to her and does not abandon her to the power of death and evil (cf. Matthew 16:18). She is Holy because Jesus Christ, the Holy One of God (cf. Mark 1:24), is indissolubly united to her (cf. Matthew 28:20); she is Holy because she is guided by the Holy Spirit who purifies, transforms and renews her.

She is not Holy because of our merits, but because God renders her Holy, the fruit of the Holy Spirit and of his gifts. It is not we who make her holy. It is God in His love that makes her Holy.

You could say to me: but the Church is made up of sinners, we see it every day even at the Vatican “the heart of the Church” where we have gay lobbies. And this is true: we are a Church of sinners; and we sinners are called to allow ourselves to be transformed, renewed, and sanctified by God.

There has been in history the temptation of some who affirmed: the Church is only the Church of the pure, of those who are totally coherent, and the others are estranged. This isn’t true. This is a heresy.

The Church, which is Holy, does not reject sinners; on the contrary, she receives them, is open also to those who are most distant, she calls all to allow themselves to be enveloped by the mercy, the tenderness and the forgiveness of the Father, who offers all the possibility of encountering him, of walking towards sanctity.

“But, Father, I am a sinner, I have grave sins, how can I feel part of the Church?” Dear brother, dear sister, it is precisely this that the Lord desires; that you say to him: “Lord, I am here, with my sins! Forgive me, help me to walk, transform my heart!”

The God we encounter in the Church isn’t a merciless judge, but He is like the Father of the evangelical parable. You can be as the son who left home, who touched the depth of estrangement from God.

When you have the strength to say: I want to go back home, you will find the door open. God comes to meet you because He always waits for you, he embraces you, He kisses you and celebrates.

The Lord wants us part of a Church that is able to open her arms to welcome all, which is not the house of a few, but the house of all, where all can be renewed, transformed, sanctified by His love, the strongest and the weakest, the sinners, the indifferent, those who feel discouraged and lost.

The Church offers all the possibility of following the way of sanctity, which is the way of the Christian. She makes us encounter Jesus Christ in the Sacraments, especially in Confession and in the Eucharist; she communicates to us the Word of God, she makes us live in charity, in the love of God towards all.

So we ask ourselves: do we allow ourselves to be sanctified? Are we a Church that calls and welcomes sinners with open arms, that gives courage and hope or are we a Church that is shut in on herself? Are we a Church in which the love of God is lived, in which there is care for the other, in which we pray for one another?

A final question: what can I do, who feel weak, fragile, sinful? God says to you: do not be afraid of sanctity, do not be afraid to aim high, to allow yourself to be loved and purified by God, do not be afraid to let yourself be guided by the Holy Spirit. Let us allow ourselves to be infected by God’s holiness. Every Christian is called to sanctity (cf.

Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 39-42); and sanctity does not consist first of all in doing extraordinary things, but in letting God act. It is the encounter of our weakness with the strength of His grace it is to trust in His action that enables us to live in charity, to do everything with joy and humility, for the glory of God and in the service of our neighbor.

There is a famous phrase of the French writer Leon Bloy, who in the last moments of his life said: “There is only one sadness in life, that of not being saints.” Let us not lose hope in sanctity, let us all follow this way.

Do we want to be saints? All? The Lord awaits all with open arms. Let us live our faith with joy, let us allow ourselves to be loved by the Lord … let us ask for this gift of God in prayer, for ourselves and for others.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ
UN Disarmament
Conference, 2002

WHAT POPE FRANCIS WANTS TO CHANGE IN VATICAN

Leave a reply

From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2013

Douglas from Mombasa writes: “Dear Sir, I read your dispatch online recently about Pope Francis move to reform the Vatican, promising to do all he could to change the mentality of an institution he said was too focused on its own interests, what is this mentality pope wants to change?”

Thank you Douglas, your question is very important as Pope Francis looks forward to reform the Roman Catholic Church, which has been facing lots of scandals for decades. The first agenda in the reform program is to rewrite a 1998 constitution on the workings of the Vatican’s various departments.

This constitution was promulgated by Pope John Paul II on June 28, 1988, Pastor Bonus, which introduced a reform of the Roman Curia and divided the Secretariat of State into two sections: the Section for General Affairs and the Section for Relations with States, which incorporated the Council for the Public Affairs of the Church.

The Secretariat of State is presided over by a Cardinal who assumes the title of Secretary of State. As the Pope’s first collaborator in the governance of the universal Church, the Cardinal Secretary of State is the one primarily responsible for the diplomatic and political activity of the Holy See, in some circumstances representing the person of the Supreme Pontiff himself.

The Section for General Affairs handles the normal operations of the Church including organizing the activities of the Roman Curia, making appointments to curial offices, publishing official communications, papal documents, handling the concerns of embassies to the Holy See, and keeping the papal seal and Fisherman’s Ring.

Pope Francis has discovered just what a blander this constitution has done to the Vatican. Having also acknowledged that there was a “gay lobby” in the Curia, the Pope thinks the rewriting of the constitution can help curb this scandal.

Pope Francis does not want the church which does not concern about itself, but a missionary church that reaches out to the poor, the young, the elderly and even to non-believers.

Already the secretive Vatican bank, under investigation for alleged money-laundering by Italian prosecutors, released its first-ever annual report Tuesday, the latest step toward financial transparency championed by Francis and his predecessor Benedict XVI.

The bank’s two top managers have already resigned and a Vatican monsignor has been arrested after trying to smuggle 20 million euros into Italy from Switzerland without declaring it at customs.

The eight cardinals dubbed “G8” to help the pope on this matter include Sean O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston and a longtime friend of Francis; Cardinals Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai, India; Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, archbishop of Kinshasa, Congo; and Reinhard Marx, archbishop of Munich and Freising, Germany, all of whom head bishops conferences in their regions.

A scandal over leaked papal documents last year showed the Curia to be a dysfunctional warren of political infighting and turf battles, fueling calls for reform from the cardinals.

The eight cardinals named by Pope Francis to begin work on ways to reorganize the Roman Curia are predominantly active archbishops of very large archdioceses, but they also have a wide range of pastoral and organizational experiences and skills.

One of the reasons why Pope Francis opted for Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, 68, who speaks Spanish fluently is because he is known for striving for transparency, tackling reform and making tough, sometimes unpopular, choices all while strengthening the church’s mission of service and evangelization.

When the Capuchin Franciscan first addressed the scandal-hit Archdiocese of Boston, he invoked “those words that inspired St. Francis, when the crucified Lord said to him, ‘Francis, repair my church.’ I ask you and plead with you: Repair my church.”

Arriving in Boston in 2003, he tackled the financial and administrative disarray in the archdiocese that had been the epicenter of the national clergy sex abuse scandal. He confronted the loss of confidence in its church leadership and sharp declines in revenue by making sometimes controversial decisions.

He sold off 43 acres of archdiocesan property, including the large mansion known as the cardinal’s residence, and ordered the closure of 63 of the archdiocese’s 357 parishes based on a study of what parishes were viable and which ones must be closed or merged. His reorganization also involved eliminating jobs, consolidating or merging programs, selling more property and making efforts to increase fundraising.

He also opted for Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, 70, for his wide experience as president of Caritas Internationalis, the umbrella organization of national Catholic charities around the world that has brought him into regular contact with the curia and have involved him directly in questions of the roles and responsibilities of various curial offices.

For Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa, Congo, 73, apart from preaching Pope Benedict XVI’s 2012 Lenten retreat on “communion in the church, both the communion of the faithful with the apostles and of the faithful and the apostles with God,” he also has had direct experience in governing and mediating in a very, very difficult situation.

With the Vatican’s blessing, in the 1990s he took an active role in mediating his country’s political crisis and trying to guide the nation to a new democratic constitution. In 1991, he was elected president of the Sovereign National Conference; from 1992 to 1994, he served as president of the High Council of the Republic; and in 1994-1995, he served as speaker of the country’s transitional parliament.

On the other hand, German Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising, 59, is an expert on Catholic social teaching and speaks often about the importance of reforming economic systems to respect the human person, solidarity and the rule of law.

He praised Pope Benedict’s encyclical “Caritas in Veritate” (“Charity in Truth”) as a guideline for ethical principles that should be put into action. “We cannot build solidarity without the idea that everyone is in this communion,” he said in a talk he gave at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana in 2010.

On his part, Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa, the 79-year-old retired archbishop of Santiago, Chile, earned the reputation as a reconciler when he promoted truth and forgiveness in a nation divided and shocked by revelations of human rights atrocities waged during Gen. Augusto Pinochet’s military regime.

The cardinal was part of planning efforts with the future pope, then- Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, of the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean in Aparecida, Brazil, in 2007.

He was superior general of the secular Schonstatt Fathers and served at the Vatican as secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life from 1990 to 1996.

While at the Vatican office, he dealt with the conflict between CELAM and the Latin American Conference of Religious, known as CLAR, which several bishops regarded as too heavily influenced by liberation theology. He called on CLAR to make deep reforms in its most controversial programs, but rejected pressures to disband it and create another organization.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ
UN Disarmament
Conference, 2002

THE NEWS DISPATCH WITH OMOLO BESTE PAYS TRIBUTE TO BISHOP GITARI

Leave a reply

From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2013

Anglican Archbishop retired Dr. David Gitari is dead but his spirit is still alive with us. When his fellow bishops from various sects were cowed to tell former president Daniel arap Moi in black and white when several things undemocratic in his Government were taking place, bishop Gitari did.

He fought for Section 2A of the constitution to be repealed. This section excluded from the political process anybody who was not a member of Kanu. He told Moi he was wrong to detain people who were against the voting of 1982 to make Kenya a de facto single party.

This lead to coup attempt in August 1,1982 by junior officers of the Kenya Air Force. Many People-including University students were arrested and imprisoned. University of Nairobi was closed for eight months.

Rev Gitari challenged politicians like Dalmas Otieno who argued that multi-party system in Kenya would allude to the period between 1966 and 1969 when the opposition Kenya People’s Union (KPU) party of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga found its bastion in Luo land.

Gitari is also remembered among other things, the notorious 1988 queuing voting system he vigorously condemned. Gitari had argued that queuing system would create enmity and divisions, especially among church leaders, head teachers, teachers, and civil servants queuing behind a candidate of his/ her choice in the open.

Gitari also blamed Moi and the ruling party government on the threat they made to punish very severely people who did not line behind Kanu candidates. The punishment included risks of being sacked from government jobs.

The Kenyan Catholic Bishops did not condemn the queuing system, instead in their pastoral letter they only spelled out the quality of people Kenyans should vote for- People who consider themselves accountable to God and to their own, who keep in touch with their constituencies and who are faithful to their election promises.

People who respect the rights of others with regard to property, who do not use their position to mass property, especially land and money, unmindfully many who have little or none.

People who promote partnership between government, religious bodies and parents in all areas of development, but especially in education where parents have shown a desire for increased religious influence in schools through genuine sponsorship, management, registration of schools, etc.

People who respect religious beliefs, the importance of family life, the rights of the unborn child and many other areas covered with medical ethics.

People with genuine integrity, moral justice and who are competent for the posts entrusted to them.

This was despite the decision by Kanu that the candidate who polled 70 percent of the voters present for the queuing would be nominated unopposed, irrespective of the voter turnout in that constituency.

Born David Mukuba Gitari on September 16, 1937, Gitari was the third African archbishop of Kenya and bishop of the diocese of Nairobi in the Anglican Church of Kenya.

He was ordained into the priesthood of the Anglican Church in 1972 by Bishop Obadiah Kariuki. On July 20, 1975, at the age of thirty-seven, Gitari was consecrated and enthroned as the first bishop of Mt. Kenya East diocese.

In that position, Gitari founded St. Andrews College of Theology and Development at Kabare. He served there as bishop until 1990 when Mt. Kenya East diocese was split into Embu and Kirinyaga dioceses. He then moved to Kirinyaga, thereby becoming the first bishop of Kirinyaga.

Apart from preaching against constitutional changes which introduced voting by queuing, Gitari also preached and campaigned against land grabbing by powerful politicians, challenging economic injustice on a national as well as a local level.

On the night of April 21, 1989, at the height of his struggle for justice, a large and heavily armed gang of thugs numbering about 100 raided his house. They dug out the security bars and shouted that they had come to kill him. He and his family escaped to the roof and called for help from neighbors. Neighbors came to his rescue just in time and the thugs fled.

MAY GOD REST HIS SOUL IN ETERNAL PEACE-AMEN

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ
UN Disarmament
Conference, 2002

Kenya: We are NOT ONE.

3 Replies

From: JohnPaul Mwangi

I refuse to suck up to this fake sense of Kenyan patriotism.

I grew up reading books on Kenyan history and singing to the tunes of patriotic songs that were constantly propagated by the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation. I went to school in a single party state when there was no difference between government and political parties. I was taught history that was cooked by the curriculum developers to deliberately make me become patriotic to the country Kenya.

At school, I was taught to sing the national anthem as well as recite the national pledge, which at the time, was coined to end up with pledging loyalty and allegiance to the president of Kenya. I was taught that Kenyatta was the Kenyan Jesus. I was taught how to sing for the president, and bow my head in respect.

In church, I was taught to obey and not question authority. I was taught to take it as-it-is, accept and move on, not to follow my emotions, and not to question. I was taught that I deserve nothing but grace. I was taught to pray with my eyes closed. I was taught to be silent in the face of injustice, by simply praying for bad people doing bad things – that they may be forgiven and go scot-free.

In reality, we are divided as the branches of this tree. Whereas we come from the same roots, we have made branches that ensure that we do not converge as we fight for sunlight and air.

Then I was brought to Nairobi, where I met pastors who steal from their congregation, in daylight. I met employers who sucked the last drop of energy from their employees, and gave them 2,000 shillings for end of year bonus. I met friends who made me believe “am looking out for you” while they meant “I am looking out for myself through you”.
Sadly, mid life clarity has taught me that – education, religion and a large part of Kenyan socialization is a well orchestrated ploy to manufacture a deeply complacent but very functional citizen, a hard working but extremely hopeful citizen – one that pays immense tax but does not question the government on how it uses it, one that should be easily duped by fellow citizens that calamity and disaster brings out “the best in us”.

And so, with time, I have come to make thread of Kenyan patriotism. It is inspired by disaster and calamity. We are happy to have calamity bring us together. It’s the only language we understand. It looks like a language that could finally unite Africa. It looks like a language that Africa can speak together. We seem to often get united by grief.

That said, I decide that I wont suck up to the fake sense of Kenyan patriotism that is currently being shared around. We are one? No we are not. WE ARE NOT ONE. We are not! We are not one. Let me remind all of us that, it is the season of pretending to be ONE. It has happened before and now it is here, fresh with lilies, graphics, hysteria, poetry and related paraphernalia.

In 1998 bombing of the US Embassy in Nairobi, We suddenly were ONE. I forget much of “We are or We are not ONE” events that happened between 1998 and 2008, but came elections in 2008, then we were NOT ONE all of a sudden. Came the Kikuyu + Kalenjin + Luo post election violence in 2008, and then we were ONE, immediately condemning attacks by our own terrorists.

When it came to taking suspected criminals to the International Criminal Court, We were not ONE, all of a sudden. Came hunger and starvation in Northern Kenya in 2011, and then Kenyans for Kenya campaign made us believe that were ONE again. Came elections in 2013, and then we were NOT ONE again. Came terrorist attack on 2013, and then we are ONE again, all of a sudden? wtf?

We are pretending to be one, and many of us are utilizing the limelight to gain political “I do good, I do well, I am also human” mileage for future prospects. Kenya is a cunning economy. We are NOT ONE, we are selfish individuals who sing at the pulpit when the song is nice to our ears, but we turn ruthless, aggressive, malicious and viciously greedy when the curtain closes on us.

Then I saw this list of these names and I wondered – how are we one? Michael Gichangi, head of National Intelligence Service; Julius Karangi, head of Kenya Defence Force; Ndegwa Muhoro, head of Kenya’s Criminal Investigations; Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, THE head of Kenya. This list sounds like a public university graduation ceremony. …..Aketck, Akoth, Atieno, Atika…. Are we one? No we are not.

We are not one when police wielding guns and black radios continue to throw me out of the road so that a More Important Person (MIP) get a privileged pass. We are not one when priests and pastors continue stealing and fucking their own congregation. We are not one when the first agenda on the list of Kenyan leaders is to add more salary, even before beginning to work. No we are not one.

We are not one when Indians continue oppressing their African workers in the export processing zones and the manufacturing industries. We are not one when we do nothing to bridge the capitalism divide that continues to deepen in this country. We are not one until thieves stop raiding my village with guns.

We are not one when development organizations continue to spend almost half of the development grants traveling to Africa in the name of “safety & security, Africa travel, hardship allowance, and close monitoring of projects”. We are not one when development partners keep creating self-existence development cartels that distribute money, jobs and favors to friends, so they too may come, live and enjoy Africa.

Consciously and conspicuously, we are ONE against this mzungu (white person) court because it is targeting the Kalenjin and Kikuyu communities in Kenya and Africa at large. This is finally, Africa United, we are TRULY ONE. We are ONE in Africa, and now we see on the news, every often, another African president joining in frustrating the mzungu court and condemning how this mzungu court is undertaking the criminal proceedings on Africans. When Africans kill their own, we are ONE in accepting, forgetting and moving on.

I wont suck up to this WE ARE ONE facade. I often sign off greetings with “ONE Love”. What does ONE mean? One love to me means, unity, equality, peace, justice and fairness. It is a deep understanding and interpretation of “ubuntuism” a philosophy that I never learnt in any class, but one that I came to embrace. It is about “human kindness”, which is far from what we see, hear, speak and feel today. We are NOT ONE until UBUNTU.

I wish all of us calmness as we go to bury our dead. Life continues, it has a way of going on. I too lost a young friend to a different type of terrorism – terrorism of life. He took his own life. I knew he was carrying around a tough weight behind his back, one that he did not choose to hurl onto himself. He put on a brave fight for the days we talked. But at the end of it, terror attacked, and his walls caved in. We are Not One when young people choose to catalyze their departure from earth.

ONE Love and WiBO Life, Life Without Borders!

—
For Jobs, Tenders, Business Opportunities, join https://www.facebook.com/Opportunities.Kenya

POPE CALLS FOR CHURCH REFORM AS IRISH TEACH CHILDREN GOD DOESN’T EXIST

Leave a reply

from: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2013

Eight cardinals appointed by Pope Francis to help him come up with a plan to reform the Vatican will meet October 1-3. Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston is the only American on the committee. This is because American bishops have been vocal on radical reform for Roman Catholic Church.

The cardinals are to meet at the time in a historic move that will see Richard Dawkins-atheists in Ireland have secured the right to teach the republic’s primary schoolchildren that God doesn’t exist.

The first ever atheist curriculum for thousands of primary-school pupils in Ireland has been drawn up by Atheist Ireland in an education system that the Catholic church hierarchy has traditionally dominated.

The class of September 2014 will be reading texts such as Dawkins’ The Magic of Reality, his book aimed at children, as well as other material at four different primary levels, according to Atheist Ireland.

Up to 16,000 primary schoolchildren who attend the fast-growing multi-denominational Irish school sector will receive direct tuition on atheism as part of their basic introduction course to ethics and belief systems.

Although the Catholic bishops in Ireland may not allow this subject to be taught for catholic children, but Michael Nugent, Atheist Ireland’s co-founder, stressed that all primary-school pupils, including the 93 percent of the population who attend schools run by the Catholic church, can access their atheism course on the internet and by downloading an app on smartphones.

There will be a module of 10 classes of between 30 to 40 minutes from the ages of four upwards. Atheists see their course as a chance for young Irish children to get an alternative view on how the world works.

This comes when Catholics are left wondering as to what exactly can we expect from these cardinals, who will meet Oct. 1-3.

Following Pope Francis recent extensive interview of his new papacy, jointly published by La Civiltà Cattolica and America Magazine, there are four areas that the pope may want the change focus on:

1. The church must have a pastor’s heart

Since Pope Francis took over as a pope in charge of 1.2 billion Catholics, his wish has been that the church must be a field hospital. He sees clearly that the thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity.

The church foremost he says is about healing people, emotionally, spiritually, physically, and even healing from wounds that the church itself has inflicted. He says faith is not about just attending mass, following rules and asking forgiveness when the rules are broken. People need a church that loves in practical ways. Catholicism’s future, he explains, depends upon the courage to change and adopt this attitude.

2. True faith that putts people over issues

But Pope Francis argues that issues need to be based on people, not the other way around. Instead of starting with the issue of abortion and Catholic teaching about it, for example, priests must think about the person they are ministering to and what it means for her future — if a woman has had an abortion, a priest needs to help her move forward in her life, which means an emphasis on grace and not sin.

The same is true for gay marriage. This reframes the emphasis in church life. “God is greater than sin,” the Pope says. “The confessional is not a torture chamber, but the place in which the Lord’s mercy motivates us to do better.”

3. The church must stop narrowing Jesus’ message to the old issues of abortion, gay marriage and contraception

Francis pushes the church away from its focus on culture-war issues. He says we cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods.

The dogmatic and moral teachings of the church are not all equivalent. The message of the Gospel, therefore, is not to be reduced to some aspects that, although relevant, on their own do not show the heart of the message of Christ.

Religious men and women are to be prophets, he says, meaning they must speak God’s love, and not condemnation, into daily life. At times that means they mess up the current order of things.

It is a view he shared when he asked young people to stir up troubles in their dioceses and exchange the church’s traditional clericalism for a new attitude of compassion, especially for the poor.

4. Women are essential to church life

On his return trip from Rio de Janeiro, the pope hinted that the church lacked a strong theology of women and their participation in Christian life. The church he says has to work harder to develop a profound theology of women within the church.

This is because the feminine genius is needed wherever we make important decisions. The feminine is part of God’s plan for the church, and the Catholic Church needs to better grow into that theological truth. Pope Francis dreams of a church that is a mother and shepherdess.

But liberal Catholics are saying this is not enough and have asked to meet the pope to add their views when meeting begins to talks next week.

More than 100 groups of reform-minded Roman Catholics sent the appeal in an open letter to the pope and the eight cardinals he has chosen to help him govern the Church and reform its troubled bureaucracy.

The groups come from around the globe, mostly the English-speaking world but also Germany, Austria, France, Poland, Spain and India.

They want the pope to come with clear guidelines of what to do with mismanagement by bishops, especially in covering up for sexually abusive priests.

The letter also appeals for divorced and remarried Catholics to be allowed to receive the Eucharist. They also call for women priests, although Francis ruled that out in July, saying that women cannot be ordained priests because Jesus only ordained men.

The groups also said homosexual Catholics should have “full participation in the life of the Church and its service.”

The eight cardinals come from Italy, Chile, India, Germany, Democratic Republic of Congo, the United States, Australia, and Honduras, indicating Francis intends to heed calls by bishops from around the world to have more say in Vatican decisions.

The meeting is about to begin at the time Father Greg Reynolds of Melbourne, Australia found out last week that Pope Francis had excommunicated him, and he was shocked. Father Granted supports women’s ordination and gay marriage.

Excommunication is a severe penalty in the Catholic Church. Today it is the church’s harshest punishment, and it means an individual can no longer participate in the sacraments or worship ceremonies, much less ever officiate a mass again.

Father Granted has officiated mass weddings for gay couples, even though he claimed they were unofficial, and he justified his actions as a call for reform.

One thing for sure is very obvious, that one of the new pope’s most important challenges is to repair the tainted image of the Roman Catholic Church following revelations regarding sexual abuse of children by priests.

Critics have also urged Francis to deal with financial corruption, increasing secularism among the Catholics and the prevalence of homosexuality among members of the clergy in the Church.

Francis will have also to deal with challenges including “a shortage of priests, growing competition from evangelical churches in the Southern Hemisphere, and difficulties governing the Vatican itself.

Pope Francis should also tackle the issue of a divided church in the United States. Various cases of child abuse in the US alone have cost the Catholic Church more than USD 3 billions.

According to a recent survey, most US Catholics consider the cases of sexual abuse as the most important challenge which should be confronted by the new pope.

Ever since the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), reformers have been calling for more collegiality and subsidiarity (decentralization) in the church and good management.

Good management involves adopting the best practices of business and government in managing finances and personnel, such as standard accounting practices, good financial records, internal and external audits, open and competitive bidding on contracts, transparency, conflict of interest rules, etc.

Although when the Protestant Reformation in Europe in the first half of the 16th century seriously challenged the Roman Catholic Church, this did not go very well with the church hierarchy, the Catholic Church has recognized that some Protestant criticisms were valid, and successive sessions of the Council of Trent, held between 1545 and 1563, aimed to tackle some of these issues.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.comFacebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.
-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ
UN Disarmament
Conference, 2002

MY HOMILY ON TWENTY SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Leave a reply

From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

Today’s first reading is taken from Am 6:1a, 4-7 . The reading presents Amos as being inspired by God to warn the rich who use their wealth to exploit and oppress the poor.

“Thus says the LORD the God of hosts: Woe to the complacent in Zion! Lying upon beds of ivory, stretched comfortably on their couches, they eat lambs taken from the flock, and calves from the stall! Improvising to the music of the harp, like David, they devise their own accompaniment.

They drink wine from bowls and anoint themselves with the best oils; yet they are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph! Therefore, now they shall be the first to go into exile, and their wanton revelry shall be done away with”.

Amos railed against the injustice of obtaining wealth through oppression or fraud. He denounced the unjust means by which it is sometimes achieved and the effect it can have on our lives.

We read in Proverbs 30:8-9 and Hosea 13:6 that wealth often tempts us to forget about God. Wealthy believers may no longer look to God for their provision because they can meet their basic needs.

We read in Ecclesiastes 2 and 5 that people who are wealthy cannot really enjoy their wealth. Even billionaires often reflect on the fact that they cannot really enjoy the wealth that they have. Proverbs 28:11 and Jeremiah 9:23 warn that wealth often leads to pride and arrogance.

Prophet Amos lived during the long reign of King Jeroboam II. Under his reign the Northern Kingdom of Israel many people became very wealthy, and began to lead a luxurious life. People turned away from God and built many altars on mountains to serve the Canaanite gods, the Baal and Ashtarte.

Amos warned the rich who had amassed their fortunes by cheating and robbery, that they would not enjoy their riches, but would lose everything when the land went down in doom. He announced the terrible punishment that God would bring upon the sinful people of Israel.

The second reading is taken from 1 Tm 6:11-16. Paul called Timothy his true son in the faith. He charged Timothy with instructing others not to listen to lies or myths about God and his truth, not to waste time in unproductive, distracting issues.

Paul wanted Timothy to teach others the matters of faith that would build the congregations of God and encourage them to avoid endless debates that would detract from their spiritual growth. He encouraged Timothy to hold fast, to remain faithful, to keep his calling in sight and to inspire others to do the same.

“But you, man of God, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called when you made the noble confession in the presence of many witnesses.

I charge you before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate for the noble confession, to keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ that the blessed and only ruler will make manifest at the proper time, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, and whom no human being has seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal power. Amen”.

The Gospel is taken from Lk 16:19-31. Jesus does not condemn wealth in itself. Part of the reason the rich man ended up in hell was because of his hard-heartedness toward the beggar Lazarus. His great wealth was obviously not a sign of God’s favor.

Jesus saw wealth as a gift from God to be used in his service (Matthew 25:14-30). Those who have been blessed with wealth must share generously with the poor (Matthew 25:31-46), and avoid the sins of arrogance (1 Timothy 6:17-19), dishonesty (Exodus 20:15, Mark 10:19, Luke 3:12-14) and greed (Luke 12:13-21).

Both men die eventually. The beggar goes straight to heaven to a state of endless happiness. His bodily sufferings have ended forever- he will never be in want again. The rich man fares very differently. His enjoyments are over forever.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ
UN Disarmament
Conference, 2002

MUSLIM LEADERS SHOULD COME CLEAR ON AL SHABAAB OPPERATIONS

1 Reply

From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013

The fact that British woman terrorist suspect, Samantha Lewthwaite who is believed to have been among the terrorists killed at the Westgate was a close supporter of Sheikh Aboud Rogo Mohammed before his death, it indicates that the war against Al-Shabaab is a long way to contain.

Muslim leaders in Mombasa still supported Rogo even when they knew very well that he faced charges of membership in al-Shabab, the Somali rebel group that is linked to al-Qaida and which has been outlawed in Kenya.

Rogo was not only supported by Muslim leaders at the Coast, including Muslim human rights activists, they also mobilized young rioters to clash with police who were trying to stop them from attacking Christian churches, throwing stones, damaging cars, and attacking businesses.

Burning of Christian churches implied that jihad war had been targeted on none Muslims, also known as kuffar (unbelievers). In response to the murder, al-Shabaab called on Kenyan Muslims to “take all necessary measures” to defend their religion.

Al-Shabaab wants Muslims in Kenya to take the matter into their own hands, stand united against the kuffar and take all necessary measures to protect their religion, their honour, their property and their lives from the enemies of Islam.

Lewthwaite is the widow of Jermaine Lindsay, one of the suicide bombers who killed 52 commuters in multiple bombings of London’s transport system on July 7, 2005.

The other is Briton Jermaine Grant who was also a great supporter of Rogo. He was sentenced to three years in prison for immigration offenses and lying to a government official about his identity.

Al-Shabab has vowed to carry out a large-scale attack in Nairobi in retaliation for Kenya sending troops into Somalia to fight the Islamist insurgents. Rogo is the fifth alleged Muslim extremist who has been killed according to human rights campaigners.

Lewthwaite is believed to have arrived in Mombasa in August 1, 2013 among other reasons to plan terrorist attacks in Kenya to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the assassination of Rogo.

Kenyan security officials placed citizens on alert, saying the Somali militant group could be targeting Mombasa, the coastal city where the cleric preached and where he was killed in a drive-by shooting on August 27, 2012.

The plan failed after the authorities raised the security level after receiving intelligence reports that at least five al-Shabaab fighters had crossed into Kenya from Somalia, Coast region.

Rogo was on a United Nations Security Council sanctions list because of alleged ties to both al-Shabaab and Kenya’s al-Hijra group — also known as the Muslim Youth Centre (MYC).

Since his killing, taped recording of his various speeches, sermons and lectures are being sold in Mombasa and Nairobi markets. The tapes appear to be amateur recordings from audience members.

In one such tape from a speech delivered in Nyeri district in Central Province on April 12th, Rogo said Somalia is the seedbed of jihad in Africa and Asia, and proclaimed that Islam would prevail in Somalia and the entire continent. He also called on Muslims to take up arms and join those who are allegedly fighting for Islam in foreign countries.

Lewthwaite, 29, a Muslim convert was wanted in Kenya on terror charges. She has been labelled the “white widow” because of her marriage to Lindsay, who blew up an Underground train at King’s Cross in 2005, killing 26 people. She has been on the run in East Africa for two years after allegedly plotting to attack Western targets in Kenya.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002

Press Statement by Muslim Leaders on the heinous attack at WestgateMall, Westlands Nairobi:

Leave a reply

From: Abu Ayman

Sunday, Sept. 22. 2013

We Muslim leaders gathered here today condemn in the strongest terms the attack on peace loving Kenyans and our international guests who have chosen to live and work in Kenya.

We send our deepest condolences to the families of the bereaved and those wounded in the ongoing siege at the Westgate Mall.

We reiterate that wanton and indiscriminate killing of innocent men, women and children is against Islamic teachings and tenets.

We re-affirm our support to the government of Kenya and its security organs in the ongoing operations to secure the mall from the attackers.

We call upon our Muslim brethren and all Kenyans of goodwill to heed the appeal and come out in large numbers to donate blood to relieve our healthcare institutions provided care and treatment to the wounded.

We call upon all Kenyans to remain calm and refrain from being divided on sectarian grounds by this unfortunate incident.

Read by Adan Wachu, Secretary-General, Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM)on behalf of the leaders gathered at Jamia Mosque Nairobi on Sunday 22.9.2013

Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM)
Jamia Mosque Committee
National Muslim Leaders Forum
Majlis Ulamaa Kenya (National Council of Muslim Scholars)
Kenya Council of Imams and Ulamaa (KCIU)
Muslim Human Right Forum (MHRF)

INSIDE STORY OF AL SHABAAB OPERATION IN KENYA

Leave a reply

From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

Muslim leaders in Kenya may have condemned the terror attack by the Al-Shabaab terming them barbaric terrorists who do not represent the religion or its faithful alright, but the fact that they don’t condemn their spiritual leaders who support A-Shabaab and preach hatred is not something to be taken lightly.

When Sheikh Aboud Rogo Mohammed became involved in indoctrination of Muslim youths with a weekly lecture at his Masjid Musa in Mombasa in 2007, lectures that presented the Somalia war as the ultimate jihad, Muslims were behind him.

Rogo issued many fatwas during this period, indicating that working for the Kenyan government was apparently haram (forbidden by Islamic law). In his preachings, Rogo gave a message of martyrdom to young Muslims.

He also developed propaganda CDs and other materials praising Al Qaeda. Rogo visited Somalia in 2009, and he allegedly joined military training camps there. He was probably assassinated by American agents, according to the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia.

Rogo was accused of radicalisation and recruitment of youth to join Al Shabaab in Somalia. The UN Monitoring group on Somalia and Eritrea Also released a report linking Najib Balala and nominated MP Amina Abdallah, claiming they funded the proscribed militia group.

The report said Balala and Amina donated Sh200,000 and Sh500,000 respectively towards the construction of Pumwani Riyadha Mosque, but the funds were directed to the al-Shabaab in Somali, according to the report. Balala has since defended himself over the accusation insisting he has no links with the group.

The alleged support began when Kenya’s anti- terrorism law was enacted, according to the report dated July 12, which suggests that it could be continuing. The youth leaders told journalists at a press conference that they had evidence of many youths who have been recruited through the mosque and called for a thorough investigation by the government.

After the killing of Rogo, Mombasa witnessed violent demonstrations, claiming four people’s lives and wounding many others as well as damaging three churches. The next day clashes continued in Mombasa. Two prison officers were killed in the ensuing riots.

Similar support by the Muslims was that of a controversial Jamaican-born Muslim cleric who was deported from Kenya soon after he landed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport from Qatar.

Sheikh Bilal Philips, a renowned Muslim scholar who is banned from preaching in most European countries was arrested due to security concerns after he arrived in Nairobi.

Anti terrorism police officers said they had received reports he was scheduled to preach and give lectures in various mosques in Nairobi and Mombasa.

In his tape Jihad, the father-of-four told Muslim women to raise their children “with the jihad mentality” by giving them toy guns. In the tape recorded after 11 September, he said: “The way forward is the bullet. Our motto is ‘might is right'”.

Since jihad is intrinsic to Islam because the Holy Qur’an requires it of every Muslim, it is very difficult to change a Muslim from this belief. Jihad means to struggle in the way of Allah. It is why one ideology that plays a role in Islamic terrorism is the principle of jihad.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002

{UMBS} Statement from SUPKEM

Leave a reply

From: Rehema Uganda

Abu Ayman,

We know its a day packed with emotions, sorrow and grieving. We have Kenyan friends too, but Islam is very clear on children, women and innocents in war. And whoever does contrary is clearly not following it. Islam DOESN’T teach such, its a religion of peace NO one can tolerate such acts in d name of Islam, we are meant to live together as one Moslems and Christians o n this globe peaceful, my sis we all condemn such acts.

Take for eg PKK in American history. Were they employees of the xtians? What of the killings in iraq libya Afghanistan? Who perpetrated that? The xtianised Americans, the British, the french to mention but a few.

If we think along religion lines then we are thinking emotionally. These guys act mostly out of their bad nature as humans before they act as Muslims. No one is born into a religion, we can choose whatever religion to belong to hence you hear of conversions. So if we analyse the individual from a moral and humanitarian point of view, the we better understand the situation. Religious talk will further subdivide you and cloud your understanding.

what happened in Kenya is happening to Muslims in Myanmar or Burma and it happened in Kashmir not long years ago. the terrorists in Nairobi might have used Islam as a criteria but not the core cause. we need to look at the underlying factors other than the method of elimination.Judge those guys as individuals not from a religious point of view. If you knew the basics of criminal psychology, then you would understand me more than clear. Always in crime complexities we look deeper than on surface. aka you need to enter the criminal mind and think from that angle. these guys want Kenya to withdraw from Mogadishu

what is the real interest of Kenya in the somali conflict? what has Kenya to gain running a conflict with somalis (alshabab or not)? i hope by kenya pushing for a full scale military intervention in the Somali conflict was the right move. what is the future like for Kenya?

Rehema

– – – – – – – – – – –

On Sun, Sep 22, 2013 at 9:06 AM, Abu Ayman

wrote:

Press Release by THE SUPREME COUNCIL OF KENYA MUSLIMS…

Ladies and Gentlemen, today is indeed another dark day in the history of Kenya. Suspected terrorist took over Westgate Mall killing innocent people including women and children.

The Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims will tomorrow (Today) hold a crisis meeting on this issue.

We call upon Muslim leaders all over the Country to join the rest of Kenyans as the country mourns and pray for the injured.

On behave of SUPKEM’s leadership, we send our condolences to families and friends of those who were killed and pray for a quick recovery for the injured.‘It is Allah’s that takes and it is He that gives, and He prescribes a certain destiny for every matter.’

Islam greatly encourages Muslims to console one another in times of grief to reduce the pain of sorrow. The Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) promised a great reward for it. He said:

“Whosoever consoles a person afflicted with grief receives his selfsame reward” [Al-Tirmidhi and ibn Majah] and, “Whosoever consoles someone going through a difficult time, Allah will clothe him with the robes of honor on the day of Judgment” [Reported by Ibn Majah].

—
UMBS is devoted to matters of interest to Ugandan Muslims and Africans in general. To donate to UMBS activities deposit money on UMBS Bank A/C at any branch of Bank of Africa: 07074320002. To unsubscribe from UMBS messages, send email to: uganda-muslim-brothers-and-sisters+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com or Abbey. K. Semuwemba(Moderator): abbeysemuwemba@gmail.com.
—

WHY INSECURITY IS A BIG THREAT TO KENYA

Leave a reply

From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2013

I said many times on this blog and I repeat again that insecurity in Kenya will still be worse unless political leadership is changed to focus on the interest of citizens and the development of the nation like poverty eradication and unemployment crisis. Poverty and unemployment leads to thuggery and murders.

Unless the tendency of manipulating ethnic identities for private interest changes, the government would have no time to put in place the strategies that can address these crucial and urgent problems. Their political base is largely ethnic and their clout is derived from money.

Unless Kenyans think twice and change their attitude of making political choices based on a number of considerations, the issue of insecurity will still be a great problem. This will only be solved the day Kenyans thought beyond their tribes and regions and vote in leaders not tribes.

We see elements of this in the recent elections in Kenya where the West’s threats of “grave consequences” if Kenyans elected those indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) served to mobilise voters in favor of the Uhuru-Ruto ticket.

As seen in the recent election, over 90 percent of Luos voted for Odinga. Over 90 percent of Kalenjin, who had voted Raila by a similar margin in 2007 changed sides and voted for Uhuru.

The Kikuyu overwhelmingly voted Uhuru, a factor that may explain why with a small addition of votes from a few other communities, the Jubilee coalition won. Raila’s Luo allied with the Kamba and other coastal groups had no enough number to win.

The tendency of Kenyans to vote in ethnic blocks explains why the democratic process tends to sustain elite privilege even at the expense of public policies that are supposed to serve the ordinary citizen.

This is because in building a winning electoral coalition, Kenyan politicians need not appeal directly to the masses that vote. Rather they need to negotiate with powerful ethnic intermediaries that represent the masses. These powerful men and women then act as a bridge between the presidential candidate or political party and their co-ethnics.

You may ask how ethnic identity is related to the conflict of loyalties and interests. This is because Kenya being a multi-ethnic society, communities that feel they have been left out in eating national cake will be aggressive to the communities they assume benefit from the cake.

It explains why many ethnic groups always supported the armed struggle for independence in hope that they could regain their grabbed powers. This situation has fomented anger, resentment, lust for revenge, and aggressive competitiveness.

That is why when violent reactions emerge under the influence of ethno-political ideologies tends to take the form of ethnocentrism, the ideology that animates the competition between ethnic groups.

That is also why a section of the population was unhappy about the outcome of the election of December 2007. When they felt their power had been stolen from them, so was the conflict.

The political crisis, under the influence of ethnic rivalry and violence, has recently killed hundreds of people and destroyed property, including burning of houses in some regions.

These conflicts cannot be contained since they are ethnically a deliberate political strategy by desperate groups intended to effect change in the political system that marginalizes them.

The situation has emerged because of unequal distribution of land and other resources, unabated corruption at the national level, extreme poverty in urban slums and squatters, unemployment, and irresponsible leadership.

Unless this changed ethnic identities in Kenya will always act as a pole around which group members are mobilized and compete effectively for state-controlled power and economic resources.

Under the leadership of the predatory elite, members of the ethnic group are urged to form an organized political action-group in order to maximize their corporate political, economic, and social interests.

Since the tendency of manipulating ethnic identities prevails also in Christian churches in Kenya, this situation has robbed churches of the ability to promote social justice for all. Religious leaders would tend to side with their ethnically anointed kings even if they cannot perform.

That is why to some religious leaders Jubilee government was right to pull out of Rome Statute because their anointed ethnic kings are implicated at the ICC. These leaders do not mind about fighting against impunity, what they see is our king is targeted.

When President Uhuru Kenyatta said more than 39 people had been killed, among them close members of his own family, this can send a signal why negative ethnicity is a big threat in Kenya. Why would Al Shabaan target members of his own family, and how did they know that those were members of his family by the way?

Westgate shopping mall may have been the target of choice because its clientele are the filthy rich class of Kenyans together with their equally opulent expatriate counterparts.

Al Shabaab, which has links to al Qaeda and is battling Kenyan and other African peacekeepers in Somalia, had repeatedly threatened attacks on Kenyan soil if Nairobi did not pull its troops out of the Horn of Africa country.

The raid presents Kenyatta with his first major security challenge since a March election victory. The assault has been the biggest single attack in Kenya since al Qaeda’s East Africa cell bombed the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi in 1998, killing more than 200 people.

Kenya sent its troops into Somalia in October 2011 to pursue the militants it blamed for kidnapping tourists and attacking its security forces.

To stop the terrorist attacks, Al Shabaab wants Kenya to pull out of Somalia where the government has been spending billions of tax payer’s money when more than 10 million Kenyans are faced with starvation.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002

MY HOMILY ON TWENTY FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Leave a reply

From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2013

Today’s first reading is taken from Am 8:4-7, second reading is from 1 Tm 2:1-8, the Gospel is from Lk 16:1-13. All the readings today emphasize the concept of Justice and peace. While justice is a virtue which guides the human will, prompting us to give others what is due to them by reason of their existence and their actions, peace is a gift of God implored with faith.

As prophet Amos speaks out in the first reading, we must fearlessly condemn greed, self-indulgence, corruption, complacency, and religious indifference in the strongest term possible. We must condemned political, religious and any other leaders who exploited and oppressed the poor.

We should emulate the courage of Anglican Bishop Alexander Muge who became a true voice to the voiceless of the exploited and oppressed people of God in Kenya. He fearlessly condemned Moi’s regime for corruption and ethnic cleansing which had begun sweeping through the Rift Valley, Western, Nyanza and other regions.

We should also emulate the courage of American Mill Hill missionary, Fr John Anthony Kaiser who fearlessly brought attention to the social problems facing people of God in Kenya. He became a vocal critic of the waves of evictions which were clearly government-backed.

He came into national limelight in the early 1990s when he vigorously resisted the eviction of the internally displaced people who had camped at Maela in Narok, following their eviction from Enoosupukia.

In the second reading St. Paul insists that we must speak the truth without fear, bias or favor. We should emulate the courage of American human rights activist, Malcolm X who courageously and fearlessly spoke the truth:

“I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.”

Jesus told his disciples that to believe in his is to know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” John 8:31,32. The key to genuine freedom is found in the phrase; “continue in my word”. Jesus says we come to know the truth by continuing in his teachings, and truth is that which will liberate us or make us free.

Truth will lead men and women, boys and girls to love one another. To the extent that we love one another, we shall also respect each other’s rights and privileges.

Later Saint Paul would write about the necessity to be numbered among those “who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For…ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit” (Romans 8:4-6, 9). It is not a matter of being “bad” or “good” but of being truthful.

To live as a material being is to live a lie; to live as a spiritual being is to live the truth. And that is truly “life and peace.” “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit,” for “he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit” with the Divine (Galatians 5:16; I Corinthians 6:17).

In the Gospel Christ is warning those who would follow him on the road to heaven not to become the slaves of earthly things. We should serve God, not money. No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon.”

In simple word, Jesus wants us to be generous with what you have. Generosity is the habit of giving without expecting anything in return. It can involve offering time, assets or talents to aid someone in need. Generosity can also be spending time, money, or labor, for others, without being rewarded in return.

Although generosity often goes hand-in-hand with charity, it is not solely based on one’s economic status, but instead, includes the individual’s pure intentions of looking out for society’s common good and giving from the heart. In other words, generosity should reflect the individual’s passion to help others.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002

POPE FRANCIS SAYS CHURCH MUST FOCUS BEYOND “SMALL-MINDED RULES”

Leave a reply

From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2013

My take on a revealing interview published in multiple Jesuit publications, including America magazine, where Pope Francis while declaring himself a “sinner” says we cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods, but speak about issues that affect ordinary people in society is that we should not be judgmental.

That if we focus mainly on these personal issues all the time the Catholic Church will “fall like a house of cards” unless it is able to focus more on the “essentials” of preaching the Gospel and less on politics and bureaucracy.

The pope wants the church which does not judge and criticise others. He wants the church which does not gossip because in doing so it destroys, rather than exalts the image of God present in others.

Those who live judging other people, speaking badly of them, they are hypocrites because they don’t have the strength, the courage to look at their own defects, for why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own.

In Matthew 23 Jesus condemns hypocrites because they are pretenders. They seek to cover their own sins and only look at others. They are like actors on a stage pretending to know God but they are not.

In Kenya for example, the church should be focusing on how half of Kenya’s population who live under a dollar a day could be defended. If it is because of high cost of living caused by the government negligent and bad leadership, the church must be the conscience of the people in order to address these issues.

If it is because the government is wasting billions of shillings in unnecessary trips, through graft, a bloated cabinet, an imbalanced budget and lack of proper planning, the church must step in.

Pope wants the church for example, to focus on the worldwide financial and economic crisis which seems to highlight their distortions and the gravely deficient human perspective, which reduces man to one of his needs alone, namely, consumption.

It is quite unfortunate and painful that human beings are nowadays considered as consumer goods which can be used and thrown away.

The pope wants to see the church focusing on condemning corruption and selfish fiscal evasion, a savage capitalism that has taught the logic of profit at all cost, of giving to get, of exploitation without looking at the persons.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002

Tanzania’s Islamist Militants: A Domestic Threat from a Domestic Context

Leave a reply

From: Yona Maro
—

Find Jobs in Africa Jobs in Africa
International Job Opportunities International Job Opportunities
Jobs in Kenya Jobs in Kenya

– – – – – – – – – –

BY HANNO BRANKAMP

On 5 May, 3 people were killed and 67 injured in a grenade attack on St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church in the Olasiti suburb of Arusha, Tanzania. The assault was blamed on Islamist militants and has raised concerns about Muslim-Christian relations in parts of the country.

In recent months, tensions between elements of Tanzania’s Christian community – who make up an estimated 60% of the population – and some of the country’s Muslim community – who make up around 35% – have escalated, with a handful of outbreaks of communal violence.

The Arusha bombing perhaps signals one of the most serious threats yet, given the scale and type of violence, but policymakers ought to be careful not to elide Tanzania’s domestic militants with their more potent regional counterparts. Tanzania’s Islamist fighters have emerged out of locally-specific contexts and histories, and the government ought to ease tensions through reconciliation and by addressing underlying grievances.

The rise of militant Islamism

In 1992, when multiparty politics were introduced in Tanzania, militant Islamism was on the rise in the wider region, especially in the then stateless Somalia and on the Swahili coast of Kenya. In Tanzania, the one-party system of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party had left the urban Muslim youth in a state of economic frustration and political paralysis. The emergence of the Islamic organisation Baraza la Uendelezaji wa Koran Tanzania (BALUKTA) – Swahili for ‘Council for the Promotion of the Koran in Tanzania’ – in the late 1980s gave a new voice to those seemingly disenfranchised Muslims, primarily in Tanzania’s economic hub of Dar es Salaam.

BALUKTA staged major protests in opposition to the government’s plan to incorporate church institutions into national healthcare and education programmes. The protest movement culminated in the occupation of the headquarters of Baraza kuu la Waislamu Tanzania (BAKWATA) – Swahili for the ‘Supreme Council of Muslims in Tanzania’– a less radical and government-sponsored Islamic organisation, which had alienated many Muslims due to its staunch support of CCM’s liberalisation policies.

Around this time, street battles sometimes erupted between Christian youth and their Muslim counterparts over inflammatory sermons held in mosques in Dar es Salaam. These inter-religious clashes were further sparked by agitation from BALUKTA leader Sheikh Yahya Hussein, whose followers were involved in the destruction of pork butcheries and raids on shops selling alcohol in Dar es Salaam. In April 1993, BALUKTA was officially banned on the grounds of allegedly plotting the overthrow of the government.

Attacks and the economy

In a new upsurge of Islamist activity in February 1998, the militant group Simba wa Mungu (‘God’s Lion’) – apparently linked to the ‘radical’ cleric Sheikh Ponda Issa Ponda – stormed the Mwembechai mosque in central Dar es Salaam. The forcible re-capture of the premises by police led to the death of at least three people. In 2002, violence erupted again when Islamic activists gathered to commemorate the Mwembechai shootings of 1998. Two more people were killed.

Sheikh Ponda, allegedly an initiator of the gathering, was subsequently portrayed as the face of Islamic radicalism in Zanzibar and the coastal mainland. In recent years, Ponda has assumed leadership of the Jumuiya na Taasisi za Kiislamu (‘Association of Islamic Organisations’), making provocative public appearances and holding lectures about the necessity of a ‘Muslim liberation’.

Currently, the marginalisation of Tanzania’s Muslims is most clear in Zanzibar, which has a Muslim-majority population. Zanzibar has witnessed the rise of the Uamsho (‘Awakening’) movementdemanding the island’s secession from the Tanzanian mainland. In April 2012, government forces violently cracked down on the Uamsho protesters that had rallied in spite of a public ban on demonstrations.

The rift between Muslims and Christians has also widened in the recent past. In mid-February this year, Catholic Priest Evarist Mushi was shot dead in Zanzibar’s touristic capital Stone Town. It was the second attack of its kind, following the shooting of another priest on Christmas Day. Last year, the reported desecration of a Koran also provoked the vandalising of numerous churches in Dar es Salaam. And now, the Arusha bombing further stirred the hornets’ nest.

These incidents arouse serious concerns about Muslim-Christian relations in both the archipelago and the mainland. However, cross-cutting fault-lines within Tanzanian society mean broader mobilisation of Muslims against Christians is highly unlikely. Unemployment and political frustration underlie civil unrest more so than sectarian animosity. Indeed, it is from this popular discontent and feelings of abandonment by the ruling elite that the likes of Uamsho and Sheikh Ponda have drawn support. By trying to criminalise those voices, the CCM government has failed to acknowledge their legitimate political demands for economic opportunities, jobs and recognition as Muslim Tanzanians.

It is crucial to distinguish between Islamic activists voicing legitimate concerns and demands – as provocative as those might sometimes be – and militants that promote the indiscriminate use of violence such as the Arusha bombing.

The need for reconciliation

Tanzania’s domestic militant Islamist movements are currently far more modest in capacity and scope than their regional counterparts such as al-Shabaab and al-Qaeda in East Africa (AQEA). These transnational movements may increasingly influence and manipulate Tanzania’s indigenous militants – and the 1998 bombings in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi show how easily regional Islamism can turn against a country – but the danger of this seems limited at least for the moment.

To avoid this, it is crucial to recognise the unique domestic grounds out of which Tanzania’s militants have emerged and to tailor an agenda accordingly. President Jakaya Kikwete’s vow to beef up security measures at religious places of worship is a sign of pragmatism in the face of an immediate physical threat. But whilst acts of violence must be tackled decisively and without delay, the same must be done for underlying grievances.

First of all, Tanzania’s Islamist movements must be seen as what they are: a home-grown domestic threat. An attempt to put Islamic activists – militant or not – under general suspicion by portraying them as the potential fifth column of al-Qaeda is likely to backfire. Instead, it is now more important than ever for the government to reassure the Muslim public that their demands are being taken seriously.

The administration’s investment in long-term measures – i.e. the empowerment of civil society and the creation of public spaces for all religious communities – will be decisive for the prevention of both enduring sectarian violence and militant domestic Islamism. Despite a healthy anxiety for the security of Tanzanians, concern should not be translated into fear and paralyse societal dialogue.

KENYA: IS BISHOP KORIR PARTISAN?

Leave a reply

From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2013

Emily from Nairobi would like to know whether Eldoret Catholic bishop Cornelius Korir backed Jubilee’s motion to remove Kenya from Rome Statute because he is a Kalenjin, and if this is the case, as a shepherd of the flock in Eldoret where we have many tribes other than Kalenjins, don’t you think this makes him partisan?

Emily would also like to know why Jubilee MPs think Waki envelope had 20 names but was reduced to 6. Do they suspect Raila’s name was there but removed by Kofi Annan?

I am not sure whether bishop Korir backed Jubilee MPs in passing the motion to remove Kenya from Rome Statute that formed International Criminal Court (ICC) because he is a Kalenjin, what I do know for sure, that bishop Korir like any other Kenyan has his democratic right to air his views, be it politically, socially or even religiously.

This is not the first time bishop Korir has been accused of being partisan. In April last year he was accused that by attending Kamatusa meeting in Eldoret he is tribal. Kamatusa meeting was initiated by MPs allied to former Eldoret North MP William Ruto and took place in Catholic Church pastoral centre attended by Bishop Korir.

Shortly it emerged that Korir attended the meeting, Mombasa Catholic Archdiocese Bishop Boniface Lele criticised religious leaders who attended the Gema and Kamatusa meetings, saying the meetings were tribal and religious leaders have no business promoting tribalism in the country.

Lele added that religious leaders appear to propagate impunity and tribalism when they attend such meetings. Bishop Lele was addressing the press at Holy Ghost Cathedral in Mombasa.

The Gema and Kamatusa meetings held in Limuru and Eldoret respectively were attended by Bishop Cornelius Korir who led a host of priests at the Kamatusa meeting and Peter Njenga who attended the Gema meeting.

When it comes to partisan politics in Kenya even priests are not spared. That is why in December 2006 Catholic bishops in Kenya issued a pastoral letter urging clergy to stay away from involvement in partisan politics.

The three-page document, signed by all bishops reminded priests that they are a symbol and builder of unity, stressing that political canvassing or urging people to vote for particular candidates or parties leads to confusion and division.

Even so, one thing we must commend bishop korir of, is his efforts to work tirelessly towards uniting Kenyans after 2007/008 post election violence, particularly the two warring ethnic communities (Kikuyus and Kalenjins) through their common desire to grow the food that would help them rebuild their lives.

As part of an ongoing series of “seed ceremonies,” Bishop Korir handed out bags of maize seed and fertilizer to members of the Kikuyu community, pleading with Kalenjin communities to allow the Kikuyus to return to their shambas (lands).

Bishop Korir has also in several occasions challenged politicians to preach peace ahead of any coming general elections.

On whether Jubilee MPs suspect Raila’s name was in Waki envelope is hard to tell. What is very clear is that according to Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) separate list, Waki list is not comprehensive and does not present a complete picture of all who may have been involved.

It makes mention of various alleged perpetrators and includes some background information on them, and the allegation(s) and information supporting the allegation(s), which the National Commission believes provides a basis and a good starting point for further investigations.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002