A concerned Catholic from Gulu City has written to Archbishop Paul Ssemogerere of Kampala, raising serious concerns about the Catholic Church’s involvement in a thanksgiving prayer for Mathias Mpuuga, the former Leader of the Opposition, who has been implicated in recent corruption scandals.
Francis Ojok, a teacher from the Gulu Archdiocese, expressed his dismay in a letter dated June 10. Ojok emphasized that the Catholic Church should not participate in events that might be seen as endorsing or sanitizing corruption. He highlighted that the church must be a louder voice against the vice that has severely affected Uganda.
Ojok’s letter reads, “Every day, we wake up to a new corruption scandal involving billions of shillings which should be helping Ugandans. The voice of the Catholic Church must become louder in condemning this vice that has crippled our nation in many sectors.”
Ojok specifically criticized the church’s planned involvement in Mpuuga’s thanksgiving ceremony, arguing that it compromises the church’s moral authority. “As a Catholic, I am concerned that such an act would drag the church into the centre of this scandal and compromise its position as a moral voice in our society,” Ojok stated.
The letter points out that the former Leader of the Opposition, Mpuuga, is accused of allocating himself 500 million shillings, money which could have been used to improve healthcare services like those at Masaka Regional Referral Hospital and Gulu Regional Referral Hospital. Ojok argued that instead of addressing such critical issues in Parliament, Mpuuga enriched himself at the expense of taxpayers.
Ojok also questioned the Catholic Church’s silence on the corruption allegations, implying that the church’s involvement in the thanksgiving mass could be seen as favoritism or tribal bias. “There have also been questions as to why the Catholic Church, which has always been vocal on matters of morality, has this time been conspicuously silent on this one,” he wrote.
He urged the Archbishop to ensure that the Catholic Church does not participate in the thanksgiving ceremony unless Mpuuga publicly repents and seeks forgiveness from the people he has wronged. Ojok warned that the church risks losing its credibility as a moral authority if it appears to condone corruption.
Ojok’s appeal to the Archbishop underscores a broader concern about the moral and ethical stance of religious institutions in Uganda, especially in the face of rampant corruption. “The Catholic Church risks losing its credibility as a voice of morality if it is seen to condone corruption and give cover to persons seeking to sanitize themselves after stealing from the poor,” he concluded.
Ojok’s letter reflects a deep frustration with the intersection of politics and religion in Uganda, calling for a stronger and more consistent stance against corruption from one of the nation’s most influential moral voices. The response of the church will be highly vindicating.
