“Seek them out”: Catholic Bishop in Tanzania on Declining Number of Men in Church Attendance

"These are our fellows, and we should follow the example of Christ,” he said, citing the parable of the lost, where the shepherd leaves the 99 and goes in search for the lost sheep. In the parable, Jesus Christ emphasizes that in finding the one lost sheep, the shepherd rejoices over it more than the 99 that did not stray from the fold. 

The Local Ordinary of Kahama Diocese challenged the people of God to “live our faith in such a way that it attracts, especially the men who no longer go participate in public worship, to see the reason to return to church.”

He went on to lament the phenomenon of absentee fathers in “many families” and further cautioned against the tendency to normalize irresponsible parenthood and the viewing of “everything as normal”. 

“If we do not wake up now, we will end up building a Church with only women,” Bishop Ndizeye warned, and emphasized, “The family as taught by the Church, and as established by God, is a family of father, mother, and children.” 

The Tanzanian Catholic Bishop, who began his Episcopal Ministry in September 2022 following his 23 June 2022 appointment lamented that the absence of men in churches is having a negative influence on boys compared to that of girls.

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“Look, if you go to the Pontifical Society of the Holy Childhood, you will find that it is only girls. Therefore, we are creating a Church without fathers,” he said at Sts. Simon and Jude Thaddeus Busoka Parish.

In his homily during the October 25 Confirmation Mass that also anticipated the Feast of Sts. Simon and Jude, the Patron Saint of the Tanzanian Parish, Bishop Ndizeye reiterated the need to encourage boys “to come to church”.

Boys, he lamented, have “lost interest in going to church because it appears to be only for women; they see that there are no men, so they find no reason to go to Church.”

The 54-year-old Catholic Bishop called upon the people of God to seek the intercession of St. Jude, the Patron Saint of desperate cases and lost causes.

“St. Jude has the power to fight and bring back even those who have lost their way, like the men who have lost their way in the Church,” Bishop Ndizeye said.

Addressing himself to candidates of the Sacrament of Confirmation, he called for strength in Christian faith, remaining intimate with the person of Jesus Christ.

“Be strong guardians of the faith and protect the Church from being attacked and eroded,” the Tanzanian Catholic Bishop told the candidates he was to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation.

He added, “Increase your efforts, especially by praying to Saint Simon, who was a fighter of faith, so that you too can fight for the faith and demonstrate it in your daily lives.”