Odama suspends priest over politics

The Archbishop of  Gulu, John Baptist Odama, has suspended the Rev Fr Charles Onen for declaring his political bid contrary to laws barring priests from participating in politics.
The Rev Fr Onen has expressed interest to contest for the Gulu East constituency in Gulu City. 
ln an October 5 letter, a copy of which Daily Monitor has seen, Archbishop Odama suspended the Rev Fr Onen for disobeying the Canon law that prohibits priests from joining politics.
 “As the shepherd of the people of God in Gulu Archdiocese, I have the painful duty to communicate to you that on September 23, I had to issue a decree of suspension ‘a divines’ for our brother, Rev Fr Charles Onen.  He is no longer allowed to exercise his priestly ministry. Specifically, he is forbidden to exercise all the acts of the power of order, all the acts of the power of governance and any right or function attached to any diocesan office,” the letter reads in part.
Archbishop Odama adds that the Rev Fr Onen has for the last three months contacted him and requested to be released from active priestly ministry to join active politics.

Restrain attempts
“I tried very much to dissuade him from taking such a step and I told him that the law of the Church does not permit a priest to be involved in active politics and that a priest who does so would be suspended. He turned this down and went on making choices contrary to the nature and requirements of his priestly status and the Law of the Church,” the Archbishop said.

Archbishop Odama said the suspension was a disciplinary measure since the time prescribed by Canon Law to answer the warnings, and to have recourse against the decree of suspension, had abundantly expired and no written answer or reaction from Fr Onen had reached him.
The Rev Fr Onen said the suspension is a blessing in disguise since he has enough time to canvass for votes. 
 “I am so grateful for this suspension by Archbishop Odama.

 I requested him to release me from my faculty as a priest so that I join the political struggle but he refused because he wants me in active priesthood services,” he said
 “I am not the first priest to join politics, my predecessors such as the Rev Fr Jacinto Ogwal and Fr Simon Lokodo, among others. To contest for any political office is not a crime,” Rev Fr Onen said .
He said his eight years in service as a priest have exposed him to multiple problems by people he has interacted with.