“All Catholics are encouraged to give, no matter how small,” the 61-old Nigerian Prelate urged, explaining that the collections are used under the direction of the Holy Father for the purposes of creating new dioceses, building new rectories, convents, training of seminarians, catechists, supporting pastoral projects, and providing emergency aid to refugees and migrants, among other uses.
“Today, even very poor churches and countries, take up collections to give what they can materially,” he emphasized, and added, “The Coronavirus pandemic must not be a barrier or cripple our response to give what we can.”
The Prelate reiterated Pope Francis’ message for this year’s World Mission Sunday saying, “We find ourselves precisely when we give ourselves to others”.
In the words of the Holy Father, Archbishop Kaigama said, “The call to mission, the invitation to step out of ourselves for love of God and neighbor presents itself as an opportunity for sharing, service and intercessory prayer.”
Meanwhile, the Archbishop expressed his appreciation for the youth in the West African country who have resorted to peaceful means in protesting against police brutality in the country.
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“We are happy that our youths are not using violence as a means of putting across their message to those in political authority in the ongoing protest against police brutality,” he said.
The protests are “a symptom of buried grievances and time bombs planted over decades by the failure to develop political, social and economic options in favor of the youth and the future generations,” he said.
“Poverty and social neglect are worse than coronavirus and they can trigger very negative reactions,” Archbishop Kaigama further said.
He added, “We however urge our youths to pursue justice in the most peaceful way, but we say to our leaders, O that today you listen to the voice of our young people, harden not your hearts.”
Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.