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Wokorach calls for unity, tolerance among faithful
The Gulu archbishop-designate Raphael P’Mony Wokorach greets faithful at Our Lady of Trust Catholic Church in Pakwach Town Council yesterday. PHOTO | TEDDY DOKOTHO
What you need to know:
- The Gulu archbishop-designate urged the Christians to be tolerant of each other irrespective of the differences.
The Gulu archbishop-designate Raphael P’Mony Wokorach has called for unity and reconciliation among the Christian faithful in Northern Uganda.
Bishop Wokorach was speaking to ecstatic Christians from both Nebbi and Gulu Catholic dioceses who had thronged Pakwach Bridge near Pakwach Town to welcome on Thursday as archbishop-designate of Gulu Archdiocese.
Pakwach Bridge on River Nile, lies some 321 kilometres on the Kampala-Masindi-Pakwach road, and some 119 kilometres on the Gulu-Arua road.
The prelate said holding his reception ceremony on the bridge, a site famed for the mythical Labongo and Gipir story and how the two brothers bitterly separated to become ancestors of present –day Acholi and Alur communities, was historic and symbolic of their oneness, unity, and reconciliation.
“Where we are standing is an important place. We remember the history of Labongo and Gipir; this is where it is today, and we have been united again. Let us thank God for making history repeat itself,” he said.
“We must unite, and we have to be tolerant of ourselves, irrespective of the differences in us. I thank you all for coming to welcome us. You have not only welcomed me but the whole of Nebbi Diocese,” he told the faithful.
Legend has it that after the bitter split somewhere East of the River Nile, Gipir journeyed westwards and when confronted by the huge and deep mass of the River Nile, he struck the waters with an axe and the waters tore apart, leaving a dry stretch of riverbed, allowing Gipir and family to cross before it filled up again behind them.
In his message to Wokorach, the Nwoya District Council chairman, Mr Emmanuel Orach, urged Bishop Wokorach to mobilise the population under his leadership to embrace production, job and wealth creation to get out of poverty.
“You are coming into office at a time when so many Ugandans are wallowing in poverty. We now pray that you help us mobilise all Christians so that we fight poverty at household levels.”
“We pray that your consecration and installation should promote unity; there should be no tribalism or religious divisions. We should fight all these so that we can remain one and united,” he added.
While welcoming Bishop Wokorach at Gulu Archdiocese headquarters, Archbishop Emeritus John Baptist Odama tasked him to serve with one heart to unite Ugandans and root for development.
“Make sure you are an archbishop of everybody, Catholics, Church of Uganda, Islam, Orthodox, etc.,” Odama said.
Gulu Ecclesiastical Province comprises the four dioceses of Gulu, Lira, Nebbi, and Arua.
About Odama
John Baptist Odama was consecrated as the first Metropolitan Archbishop of Gulu on January 30, 1999.
On March 22, Pope Francis, in a letter authored by Archbishop Luigi Bianco, the papal Nuncio to Uganda, accepted Odama’s retirement request from the pastoral care of the archdiocese and subsequently appointed Nebbi Diocese’s bishop, Wokorach, as his replacement.
“The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the Archdiocese of Gulu presented by Archbishop John Baptist Odama for reaching the age limit.” The letter stated.
In the letter, Odama was also appointed the Apostolic Administrator (caretaker) of the archdiocese until the consecration day and the canonical possession by the new Archbishop, which takes place today at Gulu Cathedral, in Gulu City.
By TEDDY DOKOTHO & REGAN OCAYA
TThe Gulu archbishop-designate Raphael P’Mony Wokorach has called for unity and reconciliation among the Christian faithful in Northern Uganda.
Bishop Wokorach was speaking to ecstatic Christians from both Nebbi and Gulu Catholic dioceses who had thronged Pakwach Bridge near Pakwach Town to welcome on Thursday as archbishop-designate of Gulu Archdiocese.
Pakwach Bridge on River Nile, lies some 321 kilometres on the Kampala-Masindi-Pakwach road, and some 119 kilometres on the Gulu-Arua road.
The prelate said holding his reception ceremony on the bridge, a site famed for the mythical Labongo and Gipir story and how the two brothers bitterly separated to become ancestors of present –day Acholi and Alur communities, was historic and symbolic of their oneness, unity, and reconciliation.
“Where we are standing is an important place. We remember the history of Labongo and Gipir; this is where it is today, and we have been united again. Let us thank God for making history repeat itself,” he said.
“We must unite, and we have to be tolerant of ourselves, irrespective of the differences in us. I thank you all for coming to welcome us. You have not only welcomed me but the whole of Nebbi Diocese,” he told the faithful.
Legend has it that after the bitter split somewhere East of the River Nile, Gipir journeyed westwards and when confronted by the huge and deep mass of the River Nile, he struck the waters with an axe and the waters tore apart, leaving a dry stretch of riverbed, allowing Gipir and family to cross before it filled up again behind them.
In his message to Wokorach, the Nwoya District Council chairman, Mr Emmanuel Orach, urged Bishop Wokorach to mobilise the population under his leadership to embrace production, job and wealth creation to get out of poverty.
“You are coming into office at a time when so many Ugandans are wallowing in poverty. We now pray that you help us mobilise all Christians so that we fight poverty at household levels.”
“We pray that your consecration and installation should promote unity; there should be no tribalism or religious divisions. We should fight all these so that we can remain one and united,” he added.
While welcoming Bishop Wokorach at Gulu Archdiocese headquarters, Archbishop Emeritus John Baptist Odama tasked him to serve with one heart to unite Ugandans and root for development.
“Make sure you are an archbishop of everybody, Catholics, Church of Uganda, Islam, Orthodox, etc.,” Odama said.
Gulu Ecclesiastical Province comprises the four dioceses of Gulu, Lira, Nebbi, and Arua.
About Odama
John Baptist Odama was consecrated as the first Metropolitan Archbishop of Gulu on January 30, 1999.
On March 22, Pope Francis, in a letter authored by Archbishop Luigi Bianco, the papal Nuncio to Uganda, accepted Odama’s retirement request from the pastoral care of the archdiocese and subsequently appointed Nebbi Diocese’s bishop, Wokorach, as his replacement.
“The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the Archdiocese of Gulu presented by Archbishop John Baptist Odama for reaching the age limit.” The letter stated.
In the letter, Odama was also appointed the Apostolic Administrator (caretaker) of the archdiocese until the consecration day and the canonical possession by the new Archbishop, which takes place today at Gulu Cathedral, in Gulu City.
who is wokorach?
Bishop Wokorach replaces Archbishop Emeritus Odama, now 76, who retired in March this year.
Wokorach, a member of the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus, started his episcopal ministry in August 2021 following his papal appointment in March 2021 from Nebbi Diocese.
An alumnus of the Uganda Martyrs’ National Major Seminary Alokolum in Gulu Archdiocese and the Nairobi-based Tangaza University College, Nairobi, Wokorach was ordained a priest in September 1993, according to the Association of Catholic Information Africa (aciafrica).
The 63-year-old holder of Master degree in Philosophy served as the bursar of the Comboni Community in Kisangani, DR Congo, formator at the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus postulancy in DR Congo, and in Chicago in USA., and becomes the second Archbishop of Gulu Archdiocese.
