Kamuli priest explains low Catholic census numbers

The Dean of Kamuli Deanery and Parish Priest of Kamuli, Rev Fr Benedict Wakabi Kyumakiyaka, has explained why the number of Catholics in the country reduced over the past 10 years, according to the released Uganda National Population and Housing Census 2024 main census report.

The findings released by Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) Executive Director, Dr Chris Mukiza, last week show that Christians form the biggest portion of the population, with Catholics having the largest percentage at 37.4 per cent, followed by Anglicans at 30.0 per cent.

And that while the population of Catholics and Anglicans had reduced, Pentecostals had increased to 14.7 per cent from 11.1 per cent and Muslims at 13.6 per cent.

Top Catholic leadership has not yet responded to the new figures; however, Rev Fr Kyumakiyaka says the numbers released by Ubos do not only point to a decline in the Catholic faith because many other denominations have lost.

“There is a big number of people who are not Catholics, Anglicans, Pentecostals, or Muslims; now, where do those ones go? There are several people who don’t know where to go and are just at crossroads,” Fr Kyumakiyaka said on October 10.

He was speaking to the media on the sidelines of the dedication Mass for Senior Four and Senior Six candidates of Jinja College (JICO), where he represented the Bishop of Busoga Diocese, Charles Martin Wamika. During the same function, he blessed the school’s prefectural body and confirmed 21 students.

He added: “There are a number of issues; some of the parents have forgotten their responsibilities; so, the children are taken up by pressures and so on, while there are some who are not going to any Church or place of worship.”

Rev Fr Kyumakiyaka says it is high time that parents went back to the drawing board and looked at the home as the first or domestic Church.

“If parents also took up their responsibilities of catechising, talking to their children and allowing them to get into their Church, many of them would still stay there,” he further explained.

According to Rev Fr Kyumakiyaka, some Catholics have gone away from the Church because they think it has no solutions to their problems and go where they are promised heaven on earth and miracles all the time because the parents are not there all the time.

He says some children have drifted away from the religious denomination because their parents aren’t playing their role; and as a Church, they need to go out more vigorously, especially to the young generation.

He said they are coming up with new strategies, especially on how to evangelise the young people, in the schools, Church, Universities.

“The moment you understand the Catholic doctrine, you will never leave the Catholic faith; but because people have not had time to be instructed to be indoctrinated well, they call it ‘rigidity’. The Church is telling you homosexuality, fornication, cohabitation is evil, and some people say no,” he added.

Rev Fr Kyumakiyaka said the Western world is always talking about “new values”, and “new rights”, but homosexuality is not only anti-Christian, but not African.

“In the book of Genesis, when God created Adam, instead of creating Eve, why didn't God create a man for Adam? What people are calling social or new values or rights are not rights but madness,” said Rev Fr Kyumakiyaka.

The headmaster of Jinja College, Mr Michael Dhikusooka, said the school is optimistic that the students will excel, having topped the Jinja Joint Examinations Board (JJEB) examinations.

“With the countless priests that have been here today, we are very optimistic that we shall get very good results,” he said, adding that they have done a lot to prepare the learners; we have exposed our learners to seminars and invited all sort of persons you would expect to fine-tune them to produce good results.

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