Africa-Press – Uganda. Hundreds descended on Rubaga Cathedral as Kampala Archdiocese hosted her Archdiocesan Day celebrations yesterday.
Guests arrived at the cathedral in the early chilly morning for the 10am mass that formed part of the celebrations.
The event attracted clergy, top government officials, and other individuals from all walks of life including learners from different institutions.
The large numbers filled up the cathedral and the surrounding areas, including the pavements where marquees were erected to provide a shed.
The theme for the celebrations was, “Do not be afraid, rise, pick up your mat, and walk”, a reference obtained from the Bible in Mark 2:11.
In his sermon, the main celebrant, Kampala Archbishop Paul Ssemogerere, hinted at a number of issues affecting the country as a whole including self centredness.
“Our problem is minding only ourselves, ‘I am the first one,’ not being patient, being indiscipline, which yields all sorts of problems in life,” he said, and appealed to God to help the country uphold good morals.
The archbishop also urged road users to respect each other and life, generally.
“Sometimes when you walk in Kampala, on some of the roads, there are those lanes designated for people to walk on. But imagine you are walking and then boda boda riders also come and use the same lanes pushing away the pedestrians. Sometimes the riders even hoot while hurling insults at you to move out of the way,” Archbishop Ssemogerere said, attracting laughter from the congregation.
To deal with this problem, the archbishop called for all Ugandans to respect traffic regulations, a behaviour that will see many lives saved.
Police August shared statistics indicating that road crashes increased from 10,025 in (January to July) 2022 to 11,312 in (January to July) 2023.
To curb the cases of road accidents, the government was forced to resurrect the Fika Salama campaign to check and monitor misbehaving drivers.
The archbishop also informed the congregation that the cathedral had witnessed both joyful and sad moments in the past.
“We have had tears and laughter and many generations of Christians have drawn their consolation from this cathedral. We thank God for this cathedral,” he said.
Archbishop Ssemogerere concluded his message by calling for unity, reasoning that division always causes a wound, which must always be avoided at all costs.
The mass was animated songs from a choir that sang different religious songs in between breaks. Mass was followed with a few speeches with most acknowledging the Archbishop for the great work he has done for the Cathedral so far. The event was then climaxed with a late sumptuous lunch which invited guests had outside the Cathedral.
Celebrated annually, Archdiocesan Day celebrations are marked every last Sunday of October among Christians from 69 parishes that make up the Kampala Archdiocese.
The state minister for Primary Education, Ms Moriku Kaducu, commended Archbishop Ssemogerere for upholding integrity and Christian values including standing against homosexuality and continuously preaching against abortion and abstinence, especially among young Ugandans.
“I want to thank you for standing with the Head of State to ensure that there is no space and no room for homosexuality in our community, schools, and in Uganda generally and we pray that you continue to preach the need to uphold our Christian values,” Ms Kaducu said.
The new anti-gay law, signed by President Museveni in May.
For More News And Analysis About Uganda Follow Africa-Press
