Dwindling number of Catholics worries cleric

Delegates attending the Catholic Missionary Congress at Pope Paul Memorial Hotel, Ndeeba got stunned when Fr Charles Kimbowa Junior, a delegate from the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kampala told the assembly that only a few people knew about the Pontifical Missionary Union, the missionary animation society whose centenary they were celebrating.

"Brethren, if we are to fulfill our missionary mandate, we must be honest to ourselves and the reality around us. The spiritual society of Pontifical Missionary Union was established to promote awareness of God's command and mission to evangelize the whole world and also to instill unity, prayer and generous sacrifice among the priests, the religious and the laity."

"Honestly speaking, the apostolate is none existent. Many parishes do not yet have this apostolate on the ground. Only some diocesan priests, consecrated men and women and the seminarians who study missiology know something about it."

One of the delegates Fr. Emmanuel Kimbowa makes a submission as other participants listen

 
Kimbowa then advised that Pontifical Missionary Union be launched anew. He said that greater efforts should be made to strengthen the collaboration and coordination of the society's planned activities.

He re-emphasized the critical necessity of the society, owing to its role of organizing, promoting, inspiring, publishing and disseminating information about missing activities, training and following up trained missionary animators in the dioceses.

Kimbowa also expressed concern about the contemporary generations of young Catholics who just belonged to the faith but didn't practice it. He also expressed worry at the dwindling numbers of Catholics worldwide.

He thus called for grassroots evangelization, rigorous outreach strategies and renewed catechetical zeal.