Church disowns ‘rebel’ priests

KAMPALA. The Catholic Church has disowned the recent ordination of ‘rebel’ priests in Mubende District.
The Chairman of the Uganda Episcopal Conference, Archbishop John Baptist Odama, said in a statement issued on Thursday that the Catholic Bishops of Uganda were dismayed that ‘two self-made bishops’ carried out the purported priestly ordination” on the compound of a school belonging to Mr Sylivester Rwaka at Namagogo in Mudende District. On October 29, 2016 two self-made bishops carried out purported priestly ordination in Mubende Town.

According to the statement, Fr Jacinto Kubuuka, Fr Deogratius Ssonko and Fr Vincent Kisenyi Byansi accompanied the said men who also laid their hands on the two faithful; Sylivester Rwaka and Joseph Bizibu (later on called Birungi) at the centre of the function.

“The said ordination event, therefore, was not in accordance with the tradition and norms of the Roman Catholic Church and we do not recognise it,” said Archbishop Odama, also the head of Gulu Diocese.
He said: “We instruct our Catholic faithful to shun all events organised by the self-excommunicated priests and to guard against being misled in faith and practice by the said priests who are not in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church.”
A group of rebel priests including Fr Kibuuka, Fr Ssonko, Fr Byansi and Fr Bruno Muhindo joined Dr Tom Sibayirwa Kiiza, the presiding Bishop of the Antiochian rite in Uganda, and ordained two new priests; Sylvester Rwakaikara Adyeeri and Joseph Nkumbya Birungi.