An early highlight for the All Africa Bishops’ Conference was an address by the President of Uganda, the Honorable Mousevi. Until that point all of the addresses and discussion had focused on the ways of the church dealing with church issues. The President brought us into a different reality.
Mousevi is a devout Christian, and his wife is a frequent speaker at Anglican functions. He had been a generous supporter of this conference and was pleased to show off Uganda to the many visitors.
When the President spoke, we saw ourselves in a different light, and not such a flattering hue. This was a statesman giving a perspective on the church - not on our internal affairs but the impact, positive or negative, in the society and history of Uganda.
After some humor and well-chosen remarks on Uganda, he began talking about the coming of the church to Uganda about 125 years ago. The first ones here were the Protestants. Then a few years later the Roman Catholics arrived. Rather than strengthening the witness of Christ in this country, these two groups went to war – against each other! “Where is that written, I wonder, where their God tells them to kill other Christians because they are from another denomination?”
Not long after the Christians came, the Muslims came. “What do you think, it wouldn’t do but that the Christians and the Muslims went to war trying to kill each other. Now I want to know where that is written in their book also that they are to kill people who worship God differently?”
As President, what he is looking for is the Good Samaritan, the person who doesn’t ask which denomination the wounded are, which faith they are, but simply wants to know what he can do to help, to bind up, to see the wounded cared for. That is what he is looking for; that is how religion helps the country of Uganda.
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