Missionnaires of Africa
4th Training Session JPIC

UGANDA : Religious on Justice, Peace, Integrity of Creation "JPIC"

A communiqué issued at the close of
an inter-congregational Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation (JPIC)
training session for Anglophone East Africa
held at St. Augustine’s Centre, Kampala, from August 2-16, 2009:

Below is a copy of the communiqué issued by the Kampala 2009 group after their session. This was the 4th inter congregational training session organised by missionary congregations based in Rome, with the others being in Kinshasa (2007), Accra (2008), Bamako (2009). Four confreres from Eastern Africa attended this, Eddie Ndahinda (Ethiopia), Anselm Somda (Tanzania), George Okwii (Uganda) and Simon Ouedraogo (kenya). Jim Greene was part of the organising committee. Other confreres including Lazaro Bustice and Richard Nnyombi gave inputs. The keynote input was given by Archbishop Christopher Odama, Bishop of Gulu who spoke of his life commitment to bringing peace and reconciliation in Northern Uganda.

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We, 33 men and women religious from 18 congregations working in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia met at St. Augustine’s Centre for an inspiring training session on JPIC. This session was initiated by the Major Religious Superiors (USG/UISG) based in Rome.

Using the methodology of the Pastoral Cycle of See, Judge and Act, participants reflected on their experiences on issues of injustice for the first week. This was rooted in an understanding of the Catholic Social Teaching. During the second week inputs were given on Conflict Resolution, Gender Discrimination and the Legal System and Dialogue and Encounter with other Religious Traditions. Other inputs covered various existing initiatives of inter-congregational cooperation for justice in Africa, Europe and at the UN.

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We were blessed to listen to Archbishop Odama’s experiences in the struggle to pacify northern Uganda. All through the session, the faith dimension was to the fore, as we deepened our appreciation of being rooted in God. This impels us to take action with and on behalf of the vulnerable and to care for the earth. Our Faith compels us to act for Justice.

We are inspired by the words of Oscar Romero: “We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, … it may be incomplete but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest. We are workers, not master builders, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not of our own.”

The major issues which emerged from our reflections were: tribalism, conflict that leads to poverty affecting the development of the country, gender discrimination in the Church and in our countries of work, corruption which is endemic in many of our countries, and environmental degradation which endangers our welfare and that of future generations.

Each participant committed him/herself to act on these burning issues within our religious congregations, with national and diocesan JPIC, and other interested groups, within our Church, other churches and civil organizations.

All the participants greatly benefited from this JPIC training which also strengthened our spirituality. Aware of the enormity of the challenges ahead, we ask our congregations and other Church bodies to:

Give us continuous support especially in our plans to network as we seek to address these burning issues;

That other religious (male and female) be released and supported to undertake training in this area, so that together we can become more effective agents of God’s Kingdom;

Acting alone we can achieve little but together we can become more credible witnesses of the power of the Risen Christ. “We are aware that the whole of creation, until this time, is groaning in labour pains. And not only that, we too ..... are groaning inside ourselves, waiting with eagerness...” (Rom 8:22,23).

We believe that the lives of our people can be made better than it is now and that another Eastern Africa, and indeed another world, is possible!

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See the Booklet