Catholic Archbishop in Sierra Leone Puzzled by Low Turnout for Holy Week Activities “in the last twenty or so years”

Participation in the celebration of Easter Vigil in the Archdiocese of Freetown has also been low, he said, and described Easter Vigil as an important occasion during which the whole Church keeps prayer vigil to await the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Archbishop Tamba Charles noted that on Easter Vigil, new members of the Church are initiated into the mysteries of Christ through Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Eucharist, and those already baptized renew their baptismal promises.

“Why do our faithful absent themselves from those celebrations so rich in meaning and symbolism that are so characteristic of Catholicism? Could they be, inadvertently, imitating the other Churches and Ministries that do not have Holy Week celebrations like us Catholics?” he queried. 

The Catholic Church leader, who also serves as the President of the Inter-Religious Council of Sierra Leone (IRCSL) added, “It certainly could not be for security reasons because many of our Catholic faithful, both young and not so young, attend social functions … that go on deep into the night and do not show any sign of fear for their security.”

“Or could it be that many of our Catholic faithful are cherry-picking liturgical celebrations in which to participate and which to ignore as less significant to their spiritual life?” he said, further expressing his puzzlement.

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The Catholic Archbishop further expressed concern that the lay people in the Archdiocese of Freetown have continued to remain indifferent to other pastoral activities, including Bible study sessions that members of the Clergy organize.

“As your Archbishop and Chief Shepherd, I am very concerned because similar signs of indifference to important pastoral activities of the Church have been seen elsewhere. For example, some priests have organized, free of charge, Bible study sessions for their parishioners, to introduce them to the riches of Sacred Scripture, but the attendance was so poor; indeed so deplorable,” he lamented. 

The IRCSL President said he found it baffling that many Catholics who shun Bible study sessions either do not know the Scripture very well, or do not read privately the readings of the Sunday and Weekday Masses.

“How many times, for example, have we heard a reader at Mass refer to a letter of St Paul as a ‘book’: ‘A reading from the Book of St Paul to the Romans’? For heaven's sake, St Paul did not write ‘books’; if he did, they are not included among his writings of the Christian Scripture, called New Testament,” Archbishop Tamba Charles said.

“Those same people who repeatedly make mistakes about the types of writings in the Bible do not bother to attend free Bible study classes in their parishes in order to be exposed to the wealth of the Holy Bible and to be introduced to the different types of literature and writings in it,” he said.

He added, “I am kindly appealing to all our parishioners, young and old, men and women, to turn out in large numbers for the coming Holy Week celebrations; especially the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday and the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night.”

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.