Bishop Largho drew the attention of the people of God under his Pastoral care to “entitlement seekers” who he said have the tendency of informing the Church leadership of their intention to attend Mass on “specific days”.
“A person who notifies church leadership regarding their plan to attend mass on specific days and times is manifestly an entitlement seeker,” he noted, cautioning that such people should not be granted acknowledgement.
The Kenyan Bishop cautioned that a Priest or church leader who disregards “this directive will be held personally responsible.”
The Kenyan-born Catholic Church leader further expressed spiritual solidarity with the people of God in his Episcopal See, urging them to pray that this year's Lenten season and Jubilee year “may truly become the Damascus moment of conversion and genuine leadership” in the East African nation.
He continued, “Let’s all pray for peace in our country and admonish people using places of worship for political expediency and money laundering.”
Bishop Lagho’s directive reiterates what members of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) have said, cautioning against the increasing trend of politicians attending churches to gain publicity by offering monetary gifts under the guise of donations.
Speaking at the Episcopal Ordination of Mons. Jackson Murugara for Kenya’s Catholic Diocese of Meru on May 19, the Chairman of KCCB, Archbishop Maurice Muhatia Makumba, decried what he described as “microphone donations” and “loudspeaker donations” given to Churches by those seeking publicity.
“We are concerned about donations for publicity,” Archbishop Muhatia said at the event that was held at Kinoru Stadium in Meru Town.
He said that the slogan “good must be done in silence” that Bishop Murugara selected as his Episcopal motto is “very consistent with the position of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops on the issue of donations.”
“This is the resolution of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops,” the Local Ordinary of Kenya’s Catholic Archdiocese of Kisumu said, and added, “We invite all Priests in our respective Dioceses to walk and move in tune with this resolution. It is for the good of everybody; it is for the good of our country in ensuring that issues of responsibility and accountability are sorted out.”
