Here is a statement of the Catholic Bishops of Kenya on the results of the referendum on the Proposed Constitution released on August 5, 2010 at the Kenya Catholic Secretariat (KCS).
May God be with us.
Go, therefore to all nations......teach them to observe all I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age. Matthew 28: 19-20.
Our dear Christians, Our dear Kenyans and all people of good will.
We have travelled a long and arduous road that has seen us speak to you as your shepherds and direct your footsteps along the road of proper moral choice. We are convinced before God that we have played our role, as mandated to us, with diligence and respect. We have not shied away from stating unequivocally what are the tenets of our faith in regard to certain issues in our proposed constitution, "in season and out of season". God will be our judge!
We your Catholic Bishops have done our bit before the referendum to sensitise Kenyans about the danger of passing a constitution that does not respect our moral values.
Now Kenyans have voted after having heard what the various people had to tell them. We respect the outcome of the referendum, where the larger numbers of Kenyans have voted to accept this proposed constitution. However, truth and right are not about numbers. We therefore, as the shepherds placed to give moral guidance to our people, still reiterate the need to address the flawed moral issues in this proposed constitution. That voice should never be silenced.
We have urged the Kenyan people to pray for a good constitution, for a constitution that respects the right to life, safeguards religious freedom in its legitimate manifestations and upholds the family as the most important societal institution. We repeat this appeal to all the Kenyan people. Let us join together in prayer for a good constitution.
The Church desires and will remain at the forefront to support the constitution and legal reform process in this country. This reform process cannot end, must not end, since we all aspire to build a better society that will respect the rights of all and facilitate our economic, social and moral development. Most Kenyans indeed recognised that the proposed constitution we voted for or against on 4th August 2010 had errors that needed to be corrected. Our main difference was whether we believed the reform should take place before or after the vote.
We recognise and highly commend the peaceful way in which Kenyans have generally conducted themselves during the referendum voting process. We ask Kenyans to make even greater efforts now to uphold the need for peace, love and unity in our relations as brothers and sisters to all other Kenyans.
We shall be giving a more comprehensive statement in the next few days.
God bless our country
Signed by His Eminence John Cardinal Njue,
Chairman-Kenya Episcopal Conference (KEC), August 5, 2010
Comments Post a comment
Indeed you have done great.....to stand by your call even when it was imminent that numbers were not in favour of us. Its the greatest sermon each one of you ever deliverd in his life of priesthood ... May God guide yu and inspire greater strength to each one of you in every day life ........ we have greater confidence in you now like saints and martyrs you never wavered
It is good for the clergy to stand firmly in support of their fundamental beliefs. However they must stand upon their accumulated credibility within the local environment .......which credibility is sadly missing n the Kenyan context.
Religious institutions in Kenya have lost the power to be heard and understood at the street level -- because of this untidy habit of being too cosy and too convenient around well-known sinners (and publicans).
Hence the reason why their NO campaign became such an empty gong (I Corinthians 13) in the ears of majority Kenyans who switched off the religious radio frequency long ago. Africans have this disconcerting habit of smiling with our teeth to every shade of incoming doctrine -- but our hearts and opinions are firmly locked behind a thick veil of proven trust. Therefore we listen to the clergy in exactly the same manner that we listen to our politicians (with closed brains no matter how much or how long they shout).
Then we make nondescript decisions based on several thousand years of accumulated history. Running like the tortoise not the hare !!
Remember that famous cartoon that greeted another Kenyan "moral" crusader in the 1990s (in those days when anti-corruption was the popular referendum): "YOU FOUND US HERE AND YOU WILL LEAVE US RIGHT HERE" still walking steadily in the footsteps of our ancestors. The clergy in Kenya today stands in the shoes of the obtuse Samaritan official who was trampled by the hungry mob at the city gates. They are totally outnumbered and outmatched by the challenges of modern Kenyans (who are determined to shed decades of institutionalised terror and repression).
Kenyans today have no stomach or patience for anything (or anybody) that hinders their freedom of self-expression. Even when that unbridled freedom means opening the door to a plethora of unexpected evils.
And that is why the popular cry on the streets has been: "Tutatengeneza matatizo baadaye".
We shall hear your NO objections later -- after we have chewed and swallowed this hard-won freshness to full satisfaction.
Later when the now over-inflated value of freedom falls dramatically (like the value of wheat in Samaria as per Elisha's prophecy). Therefore before the Kenyan clergy attempt to prune the unruly growth on the new Constitution -- perhaps they need to focus energy upon repairing the broken cisterns (Jeremiah 2:13) in the House of their GOD.
A few years of ascetic living and preaching next to Ceasar's wife (above reproach) may eventually turn the secular majority towards the moral compass. Thaaai Thaaai (peace and blessings)
Praise be to GOD.As the body of Christ let us now invest in preparing for the coming of our lord Jesus Christ.I invested so much praying for the draft constitution.Christ heard and in a dream i heard a voice asking "Are you ready for my coming back?"I was shown a scroll where sins of the church in Kenya have been written.Selfishness and jealousy among others.Let us repent and seek Christ righteousness.