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Let’s Safeguard the Environment, “look for other sources of livelihood”: Kenyan Archbishop

Archbishop Maurice Muhatia Makumba of Kenya's Kisumu Archdiocese. Credit: Courtesy Photo

A Catholic Archbishop in Kenya has urged the people of God in the East African nation to engage in activities that contribute to safeguarding the environment.

In his October 1 homily during Holy Mass for the National Prayer Day in Kenya, Archbishop Maurice Muhatia Makumba cautioned against the cutting down of trees for charcoal and advocated for alternative “sources of livelihood”.

“Let’s look for other sources of livelihood that does not involve the destruction of the environment,” Archbishop Muhatia said during the October 1 Eucharistic celebration at the Marian Shrine Subukia in Kenya’s Catholic Diocese of Nakuru.

The Local Ordinary of Kisumu Archdiocese added, “God gave us the permission to exploit the earth for food, but in the process, let’s safeguard the environment by not cutting down trees for charcoal and other uses.”

“Good environment supplements human life while bad environment makes life unbearable,” he said, and adding that the human person “has been given the power to safeguard and not to destroy the environment.”

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From creation, God put human beings in touch with the earth and having created Adam and Eve in his image and likeness, mandated them to safeguard the environment, the Kenyan Archbishop who has been at the helm of Kisumu Archdiocese since March 19 said.

He made a link between the protection of the environment and the first stages of human life and reiterated the need for cooperating with God in safeguarding His creation.

“A baby inside the mother’s womb is still human and not just anything, but the handiwork of God that is totally different from the mother’s body,” Bishop Muhatia said, and added, “The mother is just the baby’s environment.”

“When man tries to take the place of God, he starts making decision that are completely against God’s intentions,” the 54-year-old Kenyan Archbishop who started his Episcopal Ministry in February 2010 as Bishop of Nakuru Diocese further said. 

Safeguarding the environment and respecting human life fosters our relationship with God, he emphasized, adding, “When we destroy the human life and the environment, we cause the Holy Spirit much pain.”

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Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.