“The wool of the Pallium may remind us of the appeal of the Holy Father to all Bishops and Priests to take on the smell of the sheep; to become one with the flock of Christ. And of course, in order for that to happen, the Bishop needs to step down from his position of privilege; he needs to do away with privileges and perceived importance.”
The representative of the Holy Father in Kenya and South Sudan continued, “A Bishop should therefore not claim any VIP treatment; a Bishop needs to be with his sheep, to be approachable. A Bishop should not load it over them.”
He said that the Pallium that is woven with many threads of wool should remind the Archbishop of his duty to foster communion and “to bring the body of Christ together.”
In his prayer for the Archbishop of Kisumu, the Holy Father’s representative in Kenya said, “Dear Archbishop Maurice Muhatia Makumba, may the Pallium be a symbol of unity and a sign of your communion with the Apostolic See, a bond of love and an incentive of courage. On the day of the coming and the manifestation of our great God and chief shepherd Jesus Christ may you, and the entire flock entrusted to you, be clothed with immortality and glory.”
In his speech at the ceremony, Archbishop Muhatia appealed for peace in the country that is edging close to the general elections slated for August 9.
(Story continues below)
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“We are requesting for restraint in the remaining few days of the campaigns; restraint by the leaders in the campaigns pertaining to what they say, how they say it, even with the body language,” Archbishop Muhatia said.
He added, “We request for restraint among the Kenyans. Kenya is a very lovely country.”
“We have witnessed in the last 10 years of peace how much progress has been made, achieved and seen in our respective places, including our own city of Kisumu. We want to see more of this peace so that development may reach the villages of every county. We can only achieve this by maintaining peace,” the Archbishop who started his Episcopal Ministry in Kenya’s Nakuru Diocese in February 2010 said.
He encouraged the Kenyan electorate to come out in large numbers to vote in their preferred candidates, noting that failure to participate in the elections would deny their candidates an opportunity to lead.
“We ask you to maintain peace. But we also ask you to go out and vote on the 9th. Please, don’t sit on your vote because to sit on your vote is to sit on your leader who will never be,” the 54-year-old Kenyan Archbishop said.
Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.