Deteriorating faith, poverty worry Bishop Kaggwa as he nears retirement

Born in 1943, Bishop John Baptist Kaggwa, who has been at the helm of Masaka Diocese for almost 20 years, is yet to retire. The prelate will clock 75 on March 23.
Catholic Bishops are expected to submit their resignation letters from pastoral governance of their dioceses to the Pontiff the moment they clock 75 years of age.
It really requires total commitment, energy and dedication, among other things, for one to actively serve as a Catholic diocesan Bishop.

But where any of the above lessens within an individual, it becomes mandatory for that person to seek retirement.
“After clocking the mandatory retirement age of 75, it is a standard practice to write the letter informing the Pope therein seeking permission to retire and wait for a reply,” Archbishop John Baptist Odama, the chairperson Uganda Episcopal Conference, said during a recent interview.
Branded as an ‘activist in a robe’, Bishop Kaggwa has for years been known for his involvement in the transformation of not only Catholics under his stewardship, but the entire community.

His legacy
He will for long be remembered for his fight for social-economic development and open remarks on governance and political issues.
Speaking to this reporter in a recent interview, Bishop Kaggwa gave an insight into his episcopate journey, which he says began with a warm welcome on all the roads where he passed a day before he was consecrated coadjutor bishop to Bishop Adrian Kivumbi Ddungu (RIP) way back in 1995.

He severed under Bishop Ddungu until 1998, when the Vatican eventually retired the latter. Ever since his enthronement, the people of Masaka have continuously welcomed him whenever he reaches them in their different communities.
Many people wondered whether he could fit in the footsteps of his predecessor; Bishop Ddungu, who had overseen the diocese for 36 years and Archbishop Joseph Kiwanuka, the first African bishop in modern times.

“Masaka Diocese was already a beacon of the Catholic faith and I was to succeed two great men, who had committed themselves to serving the diocese,” he said in praise of the firm foundation which he says will last forever.
Rating him alongside his two predecessors was a great challenge, but at the same time, it gave him courage, which has seen him enthusiastically serve Masaka Diocese all these years.

According to Bishop Kaggwa, Archbishop Kiwanuka spent all the years strengthening the Catholic faith and benchmarking and it was almost in the same line that Bishop Ddungu steered the diocese.
“The duo [Archbishop Kiwanuka and Bishop Ddungu] considered building a strong church beginning from the smallest unit (family) and we have for these years borrowed a leaf amidst encounters of modern times,” he says.
The fifth Synod of the diocese gave track to Bishop Kaggwa’s administration when it recommended and eventually led to the two pillars of building a strong leadership and creating a self-sustaining diocese, which many faithful think the bishop has achieved.

Strengthening leaders was emphasised right from the beginning and Bishop Kaggwa credits Rev Fr John Baptist Kaganda, the then pastoral co-coordinator, for efforts to accord church leaders at all levels with timely leadership courses, which have seen them build a strong, liable and focused team.

He says building a self-sustaining diocese calls for empowering each and every body. “If all the faithful are empowered and have financial potential, then they can uphold the diocese. It’s difficult to evangelize to the poor.”
In the same way, Bishop Kaggwa has toiled to change the mindset of locals in the diocese, who are fond of lamenting that Gavumenti etuyambe (let government help us), saying this must end since nothing comes on a silver platter.

Social-economic development
The church in Uganda in particular and in Africa as a whole, has for a long time been relying on foreign support to run a number of their activities even after Pope Paul VI declared it a ‘mature Church’ as he ordained 12 bishops during his pilgrimage to the Uganda Martyrs’ Shrine, Namugongo in 1969.
Bishop Kaggwa partly blames poverty in the area on devastation of crops, majorly bananas and coffee, to which the past glory of the area is attributed.

“Poverty comes with a number of effects and this explains why many people in the area have lost a kind of human dignity and to raise their morale, we thought of providing them with cows to sustain their families,” the Bishop says.
The cow project, among others, through the Masaka Diocesan Development Organisation (MADDO), has since come with fruits and Bishop Kaggwa is optimistic it will lift households out of poverty.

The diocese under his stewardship has also embraced many development projects, including, among others, construction of new schools, rental houses, farms and plantations on top of two shopping arcades; one in Masaka Town named after him and another in Kampala -all intended to generate more income to the diocese as part of its goals towards becoming self-sustaining.
Currently, Bishop Kaggwa is spearheading efforts to begin Masaka Diocesan radio station.

On deteriorating faith
The deteriorating faith irks him most. Bishop Kaggwa says a number of Christians in the diocese have turned to witchcraft, which is visible with the mushrooming traditional shrines and acts of human sacrifice in the disguise of searching for wealth.
The appalling decrease in church marriages among the faithful is another thing worrying the prelate since the Catholic Church fundamentally roots in family.

According to statistics extracted from a book titled “2000 years of Christianity in Africa” by John Baur, by 1949, 80 per cent of the Christian faithful had married in the church, a percentage which had fallen to only 33 per cent and continues to dwindle to date.

During the same period, there have been tides of people claiming to have had divine intercession and all been drawing parallel to the Church and at times misguiding the faithful. But Bishop Kaggwa proudly notes that they have been able to tame most of them and at all times guided the believers to the right way.
He again ties the deteriorating faith to moderation as many people, more so the youth, have been taken up by social pressure of their friends, but he adds that strategies of getting them back on track have been made.
The bishop adds that many higher institutions of learning are no longer considering religion as a fundamental key, thus failing to inculcate religious values in the young believers.

Society changer
Bishop Kaggwa has also over time championed battles on society change, including fight against child labour and domestic violence, among others.
He will also be highly remembered for fighting for a cleaner Masaka Town and on several occasions, he has engaged in community service locally known as Bulungi bwansi to clean Masaka Town, which was choking on garbage.
On issues of climate change, Bishop Kaggwa has always told the faithful and the public during his preaching and while in several gatherings to watch out the rate at which they carry out deforestation, especially along the shores of Lake Victoria.

Administration
Many people acknowledge that Bishop Kaggwa has made a number of strides in administration of Masaka Diocese. By the time he assumed office, the diocese had 39 parishes, but currently has 52 fully functioning parishes.
“Our administration has been supported by a number of priests and other lay leaders .We have all the time worked as a team, each supporting the other,” Bishop Kaggwa says.
However, the bishop’s administration has suffered some setbacks, including defiance by priests, to which he attributes to nature of personalities.
“Yes, we have had such hard times, but in many cases, we have been able to solve the matters internally,” he notes.

Religious cooperation
Bishop Kaggwa says unlike the past, currently different religious denominations in the area have become more accommodative to each other , to foster meaningful development in the area .
“The West Buganda Diocese, the two Muslim leaderships and Masaka Diocese had been in fomenting religious rivalries and now everything has been left to the past, we have bonded and so have the believers,” he notes.

Masaka Diocese he wishes to see
As he goes into retirement, Bishop Kaggwa wishes a number of things for Masaka Diocese, among which is the solid unity of the flock. He also wishes to see a Masaka Diocese rising from its setbacks to attain its past glory and hold the high esteem it used to boast of.

When to retire
Although a catholic bishop formally retires at 75, the actual time when the man of God will leave the diocese is currently unknown as it remains upon the Pope to give it a lee way basing on a number of factors.
“I don’t know when exactly this will come by since the powers to have it implemented remain in the hands of the Pope,” he says.
Some bishops end up exceeding the mandatory retirement age. For example, Matthias Ssekamaanya, the first bishop of Lugazi Diocese, never retired until he was 78 years. Also, Emmanuel Cardinal Wamala went for more two years before he retired.
Currently, Bishop Giuseppe Franzelli of Lira Diocese is the only actively serving bishop in Uganda above the age of 75 years.

Who is Bishop Kaggwa?
Birth: Bishop Kaggwa was born on March 22, 1943 to the late Matia Ssentamu and Ferista Nazziwa in Bulenga village, Wakiso District. He is the second born in a family of 14 children, seven girls and seven boys.

Education: He went to Ssuumbwe Infant School and Rubaga Boys’ Primary School before he enrolled in Kisubi Seminary in 1958. In 1964, he joined Katigondo Major Seminary, where he spent one-and-half-years before Archbishop Kiwanuka sent him to Urban University, Rome for further studies in Philosophy and Theology. In 1966, he acquired a Masters degree in both disciplines.
Career: Bishop Kaggwa become deacon in 1970 while in Rome and in August of the same year, he returned to Uganda and was posted to Busuubi Parish, Mityana District for pastoral work .He was ordained priest on December 12, 1971 and was sent to serve in Rubaga Parish.

In 1976, he began Ggaba Major Seminary as its first rector and led the seminary for eight years together with Fr Exepdito Ssempijja, Dr David Kyeyune among others and in 1983, he was sent to St Mary Mary’s College Kisubi to teach Latin.

In 1985, he went back to Rome to learn civil and canon law where he obtained a Master’s Degree in the studies. While there, he was made vice rector of one of the papal colleges.
Pope John Paul II choose him on 24 June 1995, to be a coadjutor bishop to Bishop Adrian Kivumbi Ddungu, who was also the principal concreter on the event which took place at Kitovu Cathedral Church. He served with Bishop Ddungu up to 1998.

When Bishop Ddungu retired, the Pope named Kaggwa as the new bishop to the diocese of Masaka and was consecrated on the cathedral of bishop stretcher at villa Maria.
Besides being the Bishop of Masaka Diocese, he has also served as the commission chairperson of priestly formation and institutes of consecrated life on the Episcopal conference of Uganda from 1995 to date.

Bishop Kaggwa’s take on politics
Bishop Kaggwa, who is rather a renowned vocal critic of government excesses, says society needs justice and leaders must listen to the citizenry.
“With my background, I am passionate about this and as I have always said, there must be social justice. Violation of human rights and freedoms and poor governance affect the community in which our people live and since they are silent, some of us choose to be their voices,” the prelate, who holds a PhD in Civil and Canon Law, stresses

Indeed voice of the voiceless! Bishop Kaggwa has on several occasions told off both local and the central government on different matters, more so regarding concerns of the people, constitutionalism and rule of the law.
“For us we always interact with ordinary people and we know their interests and being that we chose to serve them, we use every opportunity to advise those in power on how a number of things should be done,” he stresses.

A number of politicians, including President Museveni, have condemned religious leaders for meddling in politics. However, Bishop Kaggwa says this is not right.
“Why chase us from commenting on political issues? We are there to guide. Moreover, we are not seeking any political offices and what we do is to advise and it is upon them [politicians] to take the advice or not,” he notes, quoting a scenario where former Kenya president Daniel Arap Moi sought guidance of religious leaders during his last term of office as president and also calling them to take up an advisory role to initiate dialogue between him and the then pro-reform movements.
Bishop Kaggwa adds that there must be a chain of dialogue between religious and political leaders to foster peace and development in the country.

Asked why sometimes religious leaders choose to offer public advice to leaders instead of meeting them individually, Bishop Kaggwa notes that this is normally done when there is lack of effective communication between the two sides.
“For me, I may be able to fix an appointment with the President, but not every religious leader can,” he said, adding that clerics’ advise to politicians is not mere criticism as it has been said by the latter,” he says.