Church, State tie is inseparable

What you need to know:

  • his follows the statements made by Kampala Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga during Easter that there are spies within the Catholic Church that give President Museveni wrong information and threaten to kill him, among others.
  • And after NRM assumed power; it started providing physical protection to religious leaders and giving bishops vehicles, among others.
  • It would be meaningless for the President to help in building places of worship and wish to kill those who are going to lead worshipers.

When the NRM government assumed power in 1986 under the leadership of Yoweri Museveni, they decided not to block any religion as it was the case during Idi Amini’s regime.
This is because the Constitution under Article 29(C) gives all the people the freedom to practice any religion and manifest such practices, which shall include the right to belong to and participate in the practices of any religious body or organisation in a manner that is consistent with the Constitution. This has promoted the right and freedom of worship in the country and it is the reason why churches and mosques are mushrooming countrywide.

Respect for religion is high from the State and all political leaders because when amendments in the Constitution comes, the NRM government cannot tamper with the freedom of worship because it is believed that religions were not only a matter for people their God, but they also unite, educate, inculcate morals and transform the lives of the citizens positively.

This follows the statements made by Kampala Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga during Easter that there are spies within the Catholic Church that give President Museveni wrong information and threaten to kill him, among others. If that is true, then those spying are the enemies of the State, who are trying to kill the longtime relationship between President Museveni and Archbishop Lwanga. There is no way the leader of the nation can kill a religious leader who is not a rebel or who has not destabilised the peace of the citizens. So if there is someone who called Archbishop Lwanga and threatened to kill him, I would consider that person to be just blackmailing the President.

Besides, members of the Opposition, who are adding fuel tothe matter, should know that every government in the world has a good spy network. It is, however, shocking that in the Catholic Church, it is the priests who are spying on Archbishop Lwanga. This would imply that there are problems within the church. This requires the Church leader, whose aim is to turn people to God as well as to transform their lives, to preach to the priests and discourage them from doing ungodly things to the detriment of the Church.

The relationship between the Church and the State is inseparable and it has come a long way. When the NRM government was fighting to gain power between 1980 and 1986, it did not only use fighters to bring peace, but it also consulted religious leaders, including Cardinal Emmanuel Wamala and Bishop Jonah Mukasa from Mityana, to influence people to welcome the fighters.

And after NRM assumed power; it started providing physical protection to religious leaders and giving bishops vehicles, among others. It would be meaningless for the President to help in building places of worship and wish to kill those who are going to lead worshipers.
In my view, the issue between the Church and the State today is manageable. It only calls for dialogue between the two parties.
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