Uganda’s Catholic Bishops Decry Moral Decay, Urge Respect for Human Dignity as Violence “extends to unborn, newborns”

For them, “What is at stake in all this is a deep-seated disregard for the sanctity of life in our society, emanating from failure to be each other’s keeper, inordinate love of money, and weaknesses in the judicial system and other mechanisms for conflict resolution.”

In their 38-page Pastoral Letter titled, “The truth will set you free” drawn from St. John’s Gospel, Uganda’s Catholic Bishops reiterate the Church’s stance on the sanctity of life and cite the commandment from the Book of Exodus: “Thou shalt not kill.”

“The position of the Church on killing remains the same and is rooted in the scriptures. Intentional killing, including of the unborn, is, therefore, gravely immoral and sinful,” they say, and add, “We affirm what the Church has always taught that human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception”.

They go on, “The reason is that all life belongs to God who alone has the powers to give and take it as and when He wills. Similarly, the Church teaches us: You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish”.

“It is, therefore, incumbent upon each one of us to defend life in all its stages, including the unborn,” Catholic Bishops in Uganda say.

They add, “Where we have fallen short of this duty, either by commission or omission, let us seek the mercy of God and reconcile with affected persons and families so that we and our country will receive the blessings reserved for us by God, the origin and author of life.”

The Catholic Church leaders enlist the unjust accumulation of wealth, jealousy, sectarianism, and corruption among other factors leading to moral decay in the country.

On unjust accumulation of wealth, the Catholic Bishops say, “The pursuit and glorification of wealth that characterizes our society today should be cause for concern to every believer and people of goodwill.”

“There are many people whose preoccupation with wealth has caused untold suffering to others,” UEC members say, adding, “We see this in the rampant land grabbing, abuse of public resources, theft, robbery, bribery, cheating, and lies.”

They say, “These are besides many other forms of immorality and sins that have taken root in our society. What is shocking is that many of these evils are so perverse that we have become accustomed to them.”

The Catholic Bishops urge Ugandans to be each other’s keeper, saying, “Encourage each one of us to do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but to consider others more than ourselves and to look to the interests of others.”

They also link jealousy to Uganda’s moral decay. They say, “We envy people who have what we do not have even when they have acquired them legitimately or people who are what we are not. This is one of the causes of rampant homicide, witchcraft, slander, and blackmail in our society.”

On sectarianism, they say, the tendency to identify with tribe, religion, and other social groups has taken a negative trend in Ugandan society.

“This problem has been with us all along and has greatly impeded social services and the evolution of the Ugandan state into a true nation,” they say, adding, “Today, we see widespread discrimination, oppression, nepotism, hatred and violence in public offices and communities based on misconstrued social identities.”

“The Bible warns us against such tendencies,” they say referring to John’s Gospel, and add, “Jesus prayed for the oneness of his followers; thus, setting the precedent for unity in the Church and society.”

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Uganda’s Catholic Bishops also decry a surge in corruption in the country, which they say has led to financial losses due to corruption.

As the crisis appears to be deepening, the Catholic Bishops say that corruption has “grossly undermined our country’s potential as an investment destination by raising the cost of doing business and negatively affected our relationships with God and neighbour.”

They recommend strengthening protection for anticorruption activists, ensuring the independence of anti-corruption agencies, and maintaining judicial independence as essential steps in the fight against corruption.