Let us adhere to our religious values
Jun 02, 2011
TODAY thousands of Christian pilgrims from across the world are praying at the Uganda Martyrs’ shrines Namugongo to commemorate the death of Uganda Martyrs in 1886.
TODAY thousands of Christian pilgrims from across the world are praying at the Uganda Martyrs’ shrines Namugongo to commemorate the death of Uganda Martyrs in 1886.
The Martyrs Day — June 3, is celebrated annually in memory of 45 Catholic and Anglican martyrs who were speared, killed and burnt to ash on the orders of Kabaka Mwanga of Buganda for their strong faith in God.
Kabaka Mwanga precipitated a showdown in May 1886 by ordering the new converts to choose between their Christian faith and complete obedience to his orders. Courageously, the new Christian converts chose their faith and they were painfully put to death.
Of the 45 martyrs, the 22 Catholic martyrs were declared ‘Blessed’ by Pope Benedict XV in 1920. They were subsequently canonised by Pope Paul VI on October 18, 1964. Thus they were recognised as being worthy of being honoured as Saints, the first for modern Africa.
The story of the Ugandan Martyrs is important, not just to Christians, but to all Ugandans. The Martyrs were new Christian converts. They had a choice, to renounce their faith and stay alive or to stick to their belief and be killed.
But they courageously opted to be killed for what they believed in. They chose death rather than betray their conscience and religion. This is the reason millions of Christians from across the world have converged at the Namugongo shrines today.
Uganda today is experiencing a moral crisis. There is rampant corruption, teachers defiling pupils under their care, health workers extorting money from patients, et cetera.
Yet the overwhelming majority of Ugandans are self-confessed Christians or Muslims. It implies many who profess to be religious do not practice what their faiths prescribe.
The country will be much better if all Ugandans who profess to be religious actually live a religious life.
The Martyrs Day — June 3, is celebrated annually in memory of 45 Catholic and Anglican martyrs who were speared, killed and burnt to ash on the orders of Kabaka Mwanga of Buganda for their strong faith in God.
Kabaka Mwanga precipitated a showdown in May 1886 by ordering the new converts to choose between their Christian faith and complete obedience to his orders. Courageously, the new Christian converts chose their faith and they were painfully put to death.
Of the 45 martyrs, the 22 Catholic martyrs were declared ‘Blessed’ by Pope Benedict XV in 1920. They were subsequently canonised by Pope Paul VI on October 18, 1964. Thus they were recognised as being worthy of being honoured as Saints, the first for modern Africa.
The story of the Ugandan Martyrs is important, not just to Christians, but to all Ugandans. The Martyrs were new Christian converts. They had a choice, to renounce their faith and stay alive or to stick to their belief and be killed.
But they courageously opted to be killed for what they believed in. They chose death rather than betray their conscience and religion. This is the reason millions of Christians from across the world have converged at the Namugongo shrines today.
Uganda today is experiencing a moral crisis. There is rampant corruption, teachers defiling pupils under their care, health workers extorting money from patients, et cetera.
Yet the overwhelming majority of Ugandans are self-confessed Christians or Muslims. It implies many who profess to be religious do not practice what their faiths prescribe.
The country will be much better if all Ugandans who profess to be religious actually live a religious life.