KAMPALA – The Archbishop of Kampala Diocese Dr Paul Ssemogerere has expressed concern over what he termed as displacing Jesus Christ from the centre of Christmas celebrations.
Traditionally, Christians would celebrate Christmas in honour of the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem – but Dr Ssemogerere said the day is now considered as a drinking spree in addition to engaging in all sorts of inappropriate behaviours.
Christmas is celebrated as the day when Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ, which is marked through reflecting on the believers’ faith; helping the needy, and reuniting with families.
However, Ssemogerere noted that in the modern world, people were increasingly losing focus – forgetting the rights and recommended means of observing Christmas and instead were taking advantage of the festivities to commit crimes and sins.
He claimed that many Christians today view the day as one in, which they should drink themselves foolishly, commit crimes, hurt people, and engage in other inappropriate behaviours.
He added that some people no longer attend church services on the day, saying the recent limitations due to the Covid-19 outbreak, which restricted church attendance, had fuelled the already volatile situation.
He added that now that the churches had reopened, there were no excuses for anyone not to attend service.
Additionally, the Archbishop reminded the faithful of the significance of generosity and love towards those in need, especially in the current hard economic times. He said Christmas meant nothing if those with means don’t help the needy.
Ssemogerere, who was leading his first Christmas Mass since assuming full administrative control of the archdiocese, couldn’t help but share with the faithful how he was finding his new responsibilities, revealing that he had encountered numerous obstacles.
Dr John Chrysostom Muyingo – the State Minister for Higher Education echoed the Archbishop’s message, emphasising that even those responsible for conveying the word of God were engaging unrelated issues.
He took advantage of the day to caution parents against overspending yet the task of resending their children to school was around the corner.
Meanwhile, Dr Joseph Sserwadda, while presiding over service at Apostle of the Victory Christian Centre in Ndeeba, preached against sin, calling upon the faithful to lead a life that pleases God.
He said that when a nation fears God, it is blessed, and the other needs are easily taken care of.
“We live in a corrupted world, and each person’s role is to identify bad behaviour and talk about it for those in authority to take action,” he said.
Sserwadda condemned the staging of the Nyege Nyege festival, an annual carnival, which he referred to as an avenue for promoting immorality such as nudity, fornication, and all other forms of illegal sexual relationships.
He challenged Uganda’s representatives to the East African Legislative Assembly to speak against the vice and use every mechanism at their disposal to fight the proposed East African Community Sexual and Reproductive Health Bill, 2021.
He noted that the bill seeks to legalise homosexuality and abortions, acts that he said were against African norms and Godly wishes.
