Religious leaders call for peace at Christmas
Thousands engage in Christmas shopping in Kampala on Sunday. Religious leaders have asked the people across the country to restrain themselves from violent crimes during the festive season. PHOTO BY MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
Religious leaders have asked people across the country to restrain from violence during the festive season, saying they are a hindrance to development.
The gospel preachers said there is “a great need for another revival for Ugandans to repent of their greed that manifests itself in so many ugly ways and to be truly born again.”
The evils, according to the religious leaders include murder, domestic violence, marital infidelity, pornography, human trafficking, pre-marital sex, homosexuality, abortion, illnesses, untimely deaths from road accidents, poor medical care for women giving birth, preventable and treatable diseases.
In his Christmas message, Archbishop of the Church of Uganda Stanley Ntagali said despite church efforts, the country is still facing serious issues.
“Many parents and several adult relatives are so greedy that they go to the shrine and engage in witchcraft that puts children at risk and even worse, causes children to be sacrificed,” outgoing Archbishop Ntagali told the media at the Provincial Secretariat, Namirembe.
Archbishop Ntagali, who retires in March 2020, also castigated greed, injustice, youth unemployment and land grabbing.
“We have serious issues from UN’s pro-promiscuity, pro-gay and pro-abortion sexual agenda that are trying to infiltrate Uganda. Such are sneaking into Uganda through re-writing government policies as well as through UN-funded NGOs. We continue to say no to comprehensive sexuality education and fully support efforts to intervene on this matter,” he said.
Pastor Elijah Sebuchu of Kampala International Christian Centre asked the public to exercise love and sharing during Christmas.
“It is time for us to forgive others and renew our ways with God because Jesus, whose birth we are celebrating, is a giver. It is also time for prayer and breakthrough, so I call upon everyone to fight backwardness and poverty which are major causes of evils that we are facing,” he said.
While announcing the arrival of Nigerian gospel singer David Ekene from ‘My Tomorrow Team’, Pastor Sebuchu appealed to government to come out with strong penalties against the corrupt as a measure to curb graft in the country.
He lashed out at fellow pastors who are fighting each other in public saying, it is an act of shame to the Church.
