KENYA: ‘Listen to the voices of the people,’ Archbishop Muheria Urges MPs to Reject Finance Bill

(CISA news).

 “We are not against taxes. We believe taxes are a good thing to bring and uplift the common Kenyan and to give social welfare. However, it must be in a rational way. Can we rationalise how we approach the taxes? Can we have a program that is within a year, five years, six years, ten years where we want to reach let us not try to achieve everything at a go at the expense of our Kenyans especially the very poor,” stated Most Rev Anthony Muheria of the Catholic Archdiocese of Nyeri.

Addressing Journalists on June 16 at Our Lady of Consolata Cathedral in Nyeri town, the Vice Chairperson of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) urged the Kenya Kwanza government to re-evaluate its approach to tax reforms, which he termed as disordered and disconnected from the needs of the people.

“Let’s not mince our words. We are overtaxing our people and this disordered, disconnected, disjointed plan of increasing taxes or looking for new areas of getting taxes have a negative impact on our economy and it is going to seriously injure the ordinary Kenyan,” stated Archbishop Muheria.

“If currently, our students in our school are not receiving capitation. If currently, NHIF cannot pay the bills even of the faith-based hospitals, if there is such a huge debt and so many hospitals have stopped taking the NHIF card, then why the taxes? If currently, we are also having the problems that we want to remove the support of students in universities, which family is going to support two children in university with two hundred thousand shillings a year,” remarked the vocal prelate.

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VATICAN: Pope Appeals for Global Action to End Eastern DRC Conflict, Declares Christians Killed in ‘Odium Fidei’ Martyrs

(CISA news).

Pope Francis has called on both national and international actors to help bring peace and reconciliation to the conflict-ridden Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

In his message after the Sunday Angelus on June 16, 2024, the Holy Father noted that the news of clashes and sporadic murders coming from Eastern DRC is disheartening and emphasized the need for dialogue and international cooperation to end the violence and alleviate the suffering of the Congolese people.

“Painful news continues to arrive of clashes and massacres in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I appeal to the national leaders and the international community to do everything possible to stop the violence and safeguard the lives of civilians,” appealed the pope.

The Holy Father decried the indiscriminate killing of the population in the area, the majority of Christians, whom he called Martyrs for being killed because of their faith.

“Among the victims, many are Christians killed in odium fidei meaning “in hatred of the faith”. They are martyrs. Their sacrifice is a seed that germinates and bears fruit, and teaches us to bear witness to the Gospel with courage and consistency,” declared the Supreme Pontiff.

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SOUTH AFRICA: Catholic Institute of Education Urges Schools to Prioritize Child Safeguarding

(Wesley Omondi. CISA).

In light of the Child Protection Week, the Catholic Institute of Education (CIE) in South Africa has emphasized the importance of safeguarding and protecting children in educational settings.

Since 2012, CIE has supported Catholic schools in adopting and implementing a National Child Safeguarding Policy to ensure the safety of children. This policy, revised in 2018, emphasizes training schools to protect children, provide support when incidents of harm occur, and ensure legal reporting.

“CIE continues to be deeply concerned about the high levels of violence in South Africa and the impact this has not only on learners but teachers and communities as well,” the organization stated.

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KENYA: SECAM Constitutes Special Commission to Discern Theological and Pastoral Implications of Polygamy in the African Church

(Paschal Norbert. CISA)

In line with the directive from the First Session of Synod on Synodality in 2023, the Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) has constituted a commission to deal with the issue of polygamy in the African Church.

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KENYA: Fiducia Supplicans Drowned Synodality in Africa, ‘We are coming back on track,’ says Cardinal Ambongo

(Paschal Norbert. CISA).

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo has said that the Church in Africa is united ahead of the 2024 Second Session of the Synod on Synodality set to begin in October and avowed that the discussion around Fiducia supplicans, the controversial Vatican’s declaration on same-sex blessings is buried in Africa.

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SOUTH AFRICA: Rectors of Major Seminaries in IMBISA Region Recommend Inclusion of Women in Formation of Future Priests

(CISA. Paschal Norbert).

PRETORIA, APRIL 16, 2024 (CISA) – After an enlightening three-day workshop convened by the Inter-Regional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA) in collaboration with the African Synodality Initiative (ASI), rectors of major seminaries in the IMBISA region recommended the inclusion of women in the formation of priests and restructuring of the seminaries’ curriculum to include courses on Synodality.

Under the theme “Synodality and Spiritual Conversation in Seminaries,” the rectors and participants in the formation workshop on the spirit and practice of Synodality were trained on the tenets of spiritual conversations and what it means to be a Synodal leader: understanding the meaning, practice and significance of synodality in priestly formation; and pastoral synodal leadership.

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SOUTH AFRICA: IMBISA, ASI Workshop on Synodality for Rectors and Formators to Focus on Spiritual Conversation and Clericalism

(Catholic Information Service for Africa – CISA. Paschal Norbert).

PRETORIA, APRIL 9, 2024 (CISA)-  The Inter-Regional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA) in collaboration with the African Synodality Initiative (ASI) have organized a three-day formation workshop designed for training rectors and formators of the major seminaries within the IMBISA region on the spirit and practice of Synodality.

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