“We are like stray sheep”: Kampala Catholic Archbishop Denounces Homosexuality as Disruption of God’s Plan

“In Jesus Christ’s time, it was one sheep that got lost, but as Pope Francis said, we must pray and be good shepherds, because now it is the 99 who are lost, only one remains close, while the rest have gone astray,” he said, and appealed to Church leaders, “Shepherds must work so hard to look for the lost sheep.”

At the May 12-14 Second Pan-African Conference on Family Values (PACFV) held in Kenya’s Capital Nairobi, members of the Africa Christian Professionals Forum (ACPF) highlighted the urgent need to invest in countering ideologies that they warned continue to threaten the African family values.

They specifically experessed concern about threats the concerted efforts to advance LGBTQ+ rights and normalize the practice of homosexuality.

At the 2025 PACFV, Ann Mbugua asserted, “The family is an institution made by God in the Garden of Eden. It is between a man and a woman. We believe that that which God has condemned, no one can sanitize through law or behavior.”

In his July 18 homily, Archbishop Ssemogerere voiced concern over the increasing pursuit of profit at the expense of service, as well as the growing disregard for the rule of law and lack of respect for the elderly.

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“Teachers are becoming like students. A doctor is supposed to save lives, and so is a nurse. Yet today, whether there's money or not, they won’t touch a patient until payment is made," he lamented.

The Local Ordinary of Kampala Archdiocese, who started his Episcopal Ministry in August 2008 as Bishop of Uganda’s Kasana-Luweero Diocese continued, “The law instructs us to keep left, yet people choose the right because they want to move faster. When asked to let the elderly sit first, some reply, ‘I’m a person too, I deserve a seat.’”

He went on to warn the 44 candidates he was to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation “not be swayed by today’s societal practices that turn our values upside down.”

“Don't be taken away by the practices of society today, which make us look upside down, behave as real children of God who have received Confirmation,” he said and urged them to rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance and protection against evil.

Archbishop Ssemogerere told the candidates for Confirmation that alongside receiving the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands and the anointing with sacred Chrism oil, God Himself places a seal on them as His own, inviting them to live a life of holiness.

“Don't say, 'It’s all done now, I have my certificate, so I can misbehave. Formation is a continuous, ongoing process of becoming a good Christian,” the Local Ordinary of Kampala Archdiocese since his installation in January 2022 said.

To underscore their significance, the said that Sacraments are “a means of salvation that Christ has given us and that are mediated through the Church.”

“Participate in the Sacraments; live according to the commandments of Gods, especially the commandments of love: love of God and love of neighbour,” he urged candidates of Confirmation.

Archbishop Ssemogerere encouraged them to always heed God’s commandment to respect their parents. He appealed, “Dear students, the key to our blessing lies in the hands of our parents. Let us always listen to them; let us do what they tell us and let us never make their lives hard.”

Nicholas Waigwa is a Kenyan multimedia journalist and broadcast technician with a professional background in creating engaging news stories and broadcasting content across multiple media platforms. He is passionate about the media apostolate and Catholic Church communication.