Your gift counts double until 5/31: $24,072 to go in our Easter Campaign. Please help now!

Uganda: priests charged with incitement against government

CWN - May 13, 2011

Two Catholic priests in northern Uganda have defied orders requiring them to appear before the police over alleged criticism of the government in their preaching.

Father Nakary Adiga and Father Caesar Dralenga, who serve at Christ the King Church in the Arua diocese, have been accused of “hiding behind the altar” to attack the government. The orders were issued last week, requiring the priests to answer charges of incitement against the government, especially during their Sunday sermons.

The summonses come only days after President Yoweri Museveni accused members of the Inter-Religious Council, which includes the Catholic Church, of arrogance, after the clerics denounced bribery by the government leader. The priests have refused to honor the summonses, saying they had not committed any offence. Christians had the right to be told the truth about what is happening in their government, according to Father Adiga.

Father Dralega on Easter Sunday told the congregation that he would not shy away from speaking the truth. “There is no reason why we should celebrate Easter peacefully when we know that people are being killed by security forces…It is absolutely evil and wrong,” he said.

Dan Byaruhanga, the Arua district police commander has said the two must appear at the police station. Ibrahim Abiriga, the resident district commissioner said the two will not be allowed to mislead Christians to rise against the government.

Additional sources for this story
Some links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus:

Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you!

Easter Campaign:
Progress toward our Spring 2013 goal ($24,072 to go):
$80,000.00 $55,927.55
30% 70%
Sound Off! CatholicCulture.org supporters weigh in.

All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

There are no comments yet for this item.

Catholic World News Email Newsletter
Donate to Support this Site: Your contribution will be put to good work.
Tour the CatholicCulture.org Site
Shop Amazon to Raise Money for Catholic Culture

Recent Catholic Commentary

The Rise and Fall of the (American?) Church 7 hours ago
The Ideal of Pope Francis: the Servant Church 14 hours ago
The sad decline of self-government May 22
That impromptu exorcism again May 22
The Mystery of the Spirit May 21

Top Catholic News

Most Important Stories of the Last 30 Days
Pope strongly supports call for reform in religious life CWN - May 8