Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
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| Stewardship will spur the country-KCCB |
In a pastoral letter launched on Saturday, February 22 alongside this year’s Lenten Campaign at the National Marian Shrine, Subukia in Nakuru Diocese, Catholic bishops in Kenya have highlighted the importance of individual conscience as the nation strives to reconcile.
“In this pastoral letter, we emphasize the centrality of individual conscience for the renewal and reconciliation of our Nation,” the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) have stated.
“When we do not listen to our conscience, we easily plunge into sin and evil conduct without caring about the consequences of our actions on our lives and our relationship with God,” they said.
The pastoral letter has focused on three major issues which include, “to acknowledge the significant milestones we have made as a country; to identify and discuss pertinent issues affecting the people of God in our country, that is, all Kenyans; and finally “to propose action points to the citizens, the government, and all non-state actors and people of goodwill.”
Clarifying the reason for need of moral sense towards reconciliation in Kenya the prelates state that a human being is created in the image of God,” with the ability to make decisions in all that he/ she does. “The decisions each person makes have a moral and spiritual dimension,” hence,… as individuals and as Kenyans, we have a moral and spiritual obligation to choose good when we make decisions because we desire good for ourselves and for others.”
“Notably, all actions of greed in all its forms and other capital vices, fatalism and suicidal tendencies all indicate a deadened, misguided, or misinformed conscience,” reads the Bishops pastoral letter and continues, “Conflict, corruption and callousness that we see across the country, in families, schools, communities and in public affairs are borne out of ignoring and rejecting the guidance of conscience in making decisions.”
The Church leaders note that Kenya’s 2010 Constitution focuses on the right of the people but “Unfortunately, this has sometimes warped the conscience of the nation, away from what is right in conscience, to merely the right to act.”
They add, “While this inherent human freedom must be defended, it ought to be understood within the context of what is true and what is right.
The Bishops cite examples of situations where Kenyans have not used their conscience as expected and, instead, acted irresponsibly saying, “The exploitation of children, human trafficking, the violation of women and men, the violent settlement of disputes even among couples where dialogue is increasingly diminishing, the bickering among leaders, all show that deceptive entitlement has displaced responsibility in making moral and spiritual decisions, and silenced the conscience.”
“We have to tap into our conscience, which is the space in which God speaks to us, and set on a path to renew ourselves in the face of God. This means admission of our individual and collective failures and making the efforts to bring back sanity and sobriety in the way we make decisions as a country,” the Bishops recommend.
“Further, to build sustainable peace, re-establish integrity and transparency in public affairs or build an inclusive and prosperous economy, we must strive to become a people guided by an upright conscience,” the prelates stress and conclude with the words, “All of us have a duty to be watchful that we do what is right for the good of everyone.”