Charles Lwanga or Kalooli Lwanga as locally known, is one of the three Uganda martyrs with ancestry in Masaka Catholic diocese, the others being John Mary Kiwanuka Muzeeyi and Bruno Sserunkuma.

According to the order of Masaka diocese, every first Sunday of July is pilgrimage Sunday to Lwanga’s birthplace at Birinzi near Bukakata. They also make pilgrimage to Muzeeyi’s birthplace at Minziiro along the Uganda-Tanzania border on the last Sunday of January, while the last Sunday of September is for pilgrimage to Butego, a few metres from Masaka district headquarters, the birthplace for Sserunkuma.

Lwanga had been the head of Kabaka Mwanga’s pages between November 1885 and June 1886 when he was killed at Namugongo, and is venerated by the church as the patron saint for African youths, converts and torture victims.

Last Sunday, the bishop of Masaka, John Baptist Kaggwa, led hundreds of Catholics that included MPs Mathias Mpuuga (Masaka municipality) and Florence Namayanja (Bukoto East) to Lwanga’s birthplace.

Here, Kaggwa expressed fears about the erosion of traditional African values and institution of the family, both key in the survival of the Catholic Church. The prelate used the example of the current fashion trends that he said are making women nearly walk naked, which he said is not pleasing to God.

“Considering the way women dress today, exposing your breasts and thighs distresses me. In the past, a woman would not expose her breasts for everyone to see, neither would she expose her thighs like it is today. Are you trying to entice men?” Bishop Kaggwa wondered.

He said he was sure if Kalooli Lwanga were to return to life, he would preach against the adoption of Western cultures in place of traditional African values.
Kaggwa also turned to musicians, whom he attacked for promoting promiscuity through their songs.

“I wonder what inspires our musicians today. All their compositions are about love; if they sing about something else, they will not sell. And in the nightclubs, that it the music our youths enjoy dancing to most and end up in compromising positions [with the opposite sex],” he said.

Without making a direct reference to a fete organized at the neighbouring Birinzi beach targeting the pilgrims, Kaggwa said he was certain some of the youths who were listening to his homily would end up having their photos published in local tabloids involved in unholy acts.

FAMILY PLANNING

The blame for his promiscuous flock was not limited to the music industry but also to NGOs involved in the promotion of condom use and other family planning methods.

“So many condoms are being distributed, and when the stocks run out, you hear complaints from various corners…now a lot of money in the national budget has been allocated to the procurement and distribution of condoms. Were we using condoms in the past? Today, condom use is being promoted to prevent the spread of HIV/Aids, [but] the prevalence rates have not gone down,” Kaggwa said.

He preached against campaigns urging parents to give condoms to their school-going children. He was also critical of the safe motherhood campaign as well as other programs promoting family planning.

“There is an organisation called Marie Stopes; previously, they used to operate discreetly but of recent, it has started taking its activities to the villages with loudspeakers telling the people about family planning,” Kaggwa said.

He said although the various methods of contraception being promoted may make parents feel safe, they may have adverse effects on consumers. The contraceptives, Kaggwa alleged, are the cause for the increased cases of cervical and breast cancer among women.

He also warned MPs against passing the Domestic Relations Bill recently re-tabled in Parliament, which he said is in conflict with the law of the Church, as is sex education in schools.

“I heard that the policy requires that sex education be started in P6. That exposure is going to make children unruly and in the end, we are likely to see an increase in [teenage] pregnancies,” Kaggwa said. “And because the parents want to avoid the embarrassment, they’ll take the girls to abort but the law of the church preaches against abortion, and whoever aborts [and/or] aids the practice is excommunicated by the church,” Kaggwa said.

The bishop also promoted eight seminarians to the rank of deacon, their last step in the journey to priesthood.

sadabkk@observer.ug