Newly Ordained Auxiliary Bishops for Nairobi Urged to Be Prophetic, to “speak their minds in interest of their people"

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Hon. Uhuru urged the two new Auxiliary Bishops for Nairobi Archdiocese to be prophetic, prioritizing the interests of the people of God under their pastoral care.

“I pray that the Lord God will guide our two new Bishops that they will remain that conscience (of the society); that they will speak their minds in the interest of their people without fear or favor, knowing that it is their mission to not only preach the Gospel and teach, but also to practically walk and live with those that they shepherd through their difficult times, and to stand for them.”

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Kenya’s immediate former President, a Catholic, explained the relevance of faith leaders in the world today.

“The current world is characterized with many challenges; in the midst of these challenges, people go astray. When this happens, people look out for a ‘shepherd’, who has the task to listen, and seek out solutions of those in distress alongside their leaders,” he said during the Episcopal Consecration that the Apostolic Nuncio in Kenya and South Sudan, Archbishop Hubertus van Megen, presided over.

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Hon. Uhuru continued, “We have for too long sometimes taken leadership to mean your capacity to load it over everybody else. But as the Apostolic Nuncio has reminded us today, the job of a shepherd is not to direct, but to guide and lead and bring everybody along with you.”

“We have heard regarding betrayers,” he said, referring to Apostolic Nuncio’s caution against taking on the character of Judas Iscariot in being an enemy to each other as Church members, including within the Catholic Church hierarchy.

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According to Hon. Uhuru, there is not much betrayal among members of the Catholic Church hierarchy compared to the ordinary people, and especially the political class.

He challenged Kenyan politicians to collaborate with faith-based leaders. “Bring them (faith leaders) into your confidence; bring them into your trust; they, especially in difficult times, will help and guide you through, and bring your flock to greener pastures,” Hon. Uhuru said.

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Speaking at the same event, the Governor of Nairobi County acknowledged the critical role of the Catholic Church in Kenya, highlighting the contribution in the health and education sectors.

“The place of the Catholic Church in our country is really solid; the history of this country can never be written down without noting and acknowledging the contribution of the Catholic Church,” Johnson Sakaja.

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Mr. Sakaja added, “At this time, Catholic church, I’d like to ask you to pray for our country so that it can succeed.”

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Meanwhile, in his remarks towards the end of the Episcopal Consecration celebration, the Apostolic Nuncio in Kenya highlighted the way of being Church that the ongoing Synod on Synodality, which Pope Francis extended to October 2024 has emphasized.

“The speakers before me shared how the Catholic Church is not a Church closed in itself; we are not a sect; we open the doors and windows so that other people can get a bit of a sniff of the incense, all the people of faith and even those of non-faith, we as a Church are open to them, we serve them,” Archbishop van Megen said.

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The Dutch-born Vatican diplomat added that the Catholic Church in Kenya is at the service of all the people of God “through our institutions. Imagine 35 percent of education institutions in Kenya are Catholic; 40 percent of all health institutions are Catholic. We are among the pillars of this great nation and we will continue to serve this great nation.”

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“I myself am already like five years in Kenya and it has been years of grace, years of happiness and feeling fortunate to be able to serve this great Church with these splendid and good Bishops we have,” the Nairobi-based Archbishop, who started his service as Apostolic Nuncio in Khartoum, Sudan, in March 2014 said.