Catholic priest has ‘fallen in love’ with the Bible
KAMPALA, Uganda — “I have fallen in love with the Word of God,” says Father John Wynando Katende, Archpriest of the Catholic Sacred Heart Cathedral of the Parish of Rubaga, the main cathedral in Kampala. And, like anyone else who has fallen in love, he says he cannot explain it. “Anything that has to do with love hardly has an explanation,” he admits. “But, according to St Jerome, one of the great translators of the Bible from Greek into Latin, ‘Ignorance of the Word of God is ignorance of Christ’, so there is no better way of knowing Christ than from the Word of God.” SurprisedHe understands why some people might be surprised at a Catholic’s passion for the Word. “I’m not embarrassed to admit that for a long time the Catholic Church kind of put the Word of God aside,” he says. “We had a tendency to emphasise the Sacraments, especially during those times in history when literacy was quite low and the Bible was in a foreign language for many people.
“It is not that Catholics did not hear the Word of God, or that they were not impacted by it – it was just not emphasised for personal reading. It was being heard from the priest, part of it was in our prayers, it was in the liturgy, and it is in the rosary.” He noted that the rosary was developed as a teaching aid during a time of high illiteracy in Europe. “The rosary is a kind of summary of the Gospel,” he explains. “We call it the ‘15 mysteries of salvation’. People were being helped to meditate on these mysteries without being able to read – to be able to mentally appreciate the truths of the Gospel. But to be able to read it yourself is so much better.” Unfortunately, not reading the Bible itself became something of a tradition, Fr Katende says, and the Church now understands that was a mistake. That is why the Catholic Church is now avidly promoting Bible reading. Fr Katende is one of the Catholic Church’s most enthusiastic Bible promoters. As well as working with the Bible Society (see related feature) he also promotes the Bible to the general public by writing Scripture-based devotional columns that appear in two of Uganda’s national newspapers each Sunday – the English-language Sunday Monitor and a vernacular paper. These have had a significant impact. Compare notes“I have been told that sales of the Sunday Monitor have increased because people buy it to read my column either before they go to church so they can compare notes, or after church to read on their day of leisure,” he smiles. “I write the columns as an outreach, to help more people than just those who come to church,” he explains. “I try to be as general as possible because I have more people in mind than Catholics.” (WR 375/16 - 3.03) |
