The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A host of alien practices have infiltrated conservative traditions of pilgrimage in the Roman Catholic Church as more people move away from the idea of wandering in a journey with a purpose to honour God.
What is supposed to be a spiritual journey, has become mixed with practices that, according to traditionalists, are against the genesis of a long history of pilgrimage in the true religion. Traditionally, the journey of pilgrimage is supposed to come with sacrifices like hunger, pain, exhaustion and enduring extreme weather conditions, among others.
The sacrifices involve self-denial in order to obtain the ultimate goal and reach the final destination, and according to Christian teachings, the suffering is supposed to be embraced with endurance and Joy. Christian teachings explain that although they are living entirely in the present, what matters for pilgrims is the distant goal.
However, during the just concluded pilgrimage to the Uganda Martyrs Shrine, Namugongo, pilgrims were accompanied by ambulances, health workers, vehicles loaded with public address systems, lorries transporting basic needs ahead of them, and reserving accommodation in well-furnished luxurious stopovers along the route to Namugongo.
They even transported a group of chefs, food and other basic needs to their next stopover in order to have food and water already prepared for them, which significantly lessened the amount of suffering in their pilgrimage as they often found porridge or tea ready as opposed to carrying them on their backs or begging from Samaritans along their way.
The pilgrims to Namugongo even detested the idea of dying for their faith. They bathed with hot water at almost all stopovers as health workers dressed their feet in fancy bandages. Indeed, one can easily conclude that this year’s pilgrims took the journey of faith with tender care.
Bible scholars say ignoring these new additions to the traditions of pilgrimage which the early Christians took on horsebacks or foot is detrimental to the spiritual motivations for going on pilgrimages.
For instance, Foot Pilgrims from Gulu could neither sing praises or worship from their hearts nor dance whenever the public address which played for them was off as the Deejay struggled with his machines.
Instruments of worship which were considered traditional to the worship of God were no longer appealing. The drums, the Calabash or the Adungu (string harps) were not visible in the hands of the pilgrims save for some few vuvuzelas and modern whistles. However, men stuck to their ancestral flutes (Bila) while women ululate and cheered under extreme excitement.
In the Gulu foot pilgrimage, something tragically strange was that two pilgrims who dedicated their times to fully commune with the Lord in spirit and truth got discontinued along the way. Their crime was refusing to eat food to continue in a self-declared dry fast, an act which was viewed as threatening the process of the spiritual journey rather than derived pride of dying for their faith.
Some of the alien practices were also part of the Tracing the Foot Steps of the Martyrs Walk from Munyonyo Martyrs Shrine to Old Kampala where St. Mathias Mulumba Kalema was martyred. Mulumba asked his tormentors to finish their mission from Old Kampala after being humiliated along the way. He took three days suffering without his limbs before dying in Old Kampala where a chapel has been erected in his memory.
Some priests are blaming the influx of the alien practices to environmental, technological advancement and the need to prevent religious extremism. Father Richard Pele Nyombi, a missionary father to the Uganda Martyrs admits that the concepts, context and process of pilgrimage to holy lands or burial sites of Saints have significantly changed over time.
Father Nyombi says any pilgrimage devoid of sacrifices is less of a spiritual pilgrimage.
Professor Dr John Joseph Otim, the Author of 100 Years of Authentic Witness of Jesus Christ: The Martyrs of Paimol Blessed Daudi Okello and Jildo Irwa says the new luxuries added to the old traditions of pilgrimage will, in the long run, drive the religious practice into extinction by stripping its emotional and spiritual sufferings.
Professor Otim advises the Church to make pilgrimage reflect the true sufferings of the Israelites as they migrated from Egypt to the promised land – Canaan or the way of the cross which the Savior Christ Jesus took to the cross at Calvary. He says these two religious pilgrimages had their fair share of humiliation or sufferings which demonstrated religious astuteness as reflected in the pilgrimage the Uganda Martyrs took to the execution grounds in Namugongo.
According to Prof Otim, this is the kind of commitment with which the early Christians took their pilgrimages to Biblical cities, tombs of the saints and apostles as well as the hero of faith Christ Jesus Mausoleum. He says sufferings were all an integral part of their journeys, something which demonstrated remorse for sins, devotion, spiritual maturity and deep commitment towards the worship of the incarnate God.
“Some of the historical pilgrims took their tedious journeys on foot through a very hostile environment without an adequate supply of food while others added self-inflicted pain to symbolize renouncing one’s self for Christ. They did not care whether they would lose their lives along the way; adding that in fact, they took pride in dying for Christ or their God” he stated.
According to Prof Otim, the historical pilgrims considered the humiliation of being denied food, water and proper shelter critical elements of living their faith and the emulation of Jesus Christ in carrying their cross to demonstrate retribution for their penance before receiving forgiveness.
Father Richard Pele Nyombi, a missionary of Africa or the White Fathers who are fathers to the Uganda Martyrs admits that walking in the footsteps of the Uganda Martyrs should also involve some forms of reflection which can be done under some quiet.
Father Nyombi admits that inventions and civilization have changed the traditions of pilgrimage over the years. He says the changes are more into the means of taking pilgrimage rather than the core spiritual context. He says the changes are yet to take a toll on the core spiritual motivations for going on pilgrimage and the Church will not hesitate to stop them if they begin to impact the doctrine of the Church negatively.
Father Seraphine Opiyo, a priest in Gulu Archdiocese with an assignment at Paimol Martyrs Shrine in Agago district says pilgrimage is as old as mankind whose core values haven’t changed.
The Roman Catholic Church was conservative about admitting the African drum in the worship until 1964 at the canonization of the Uganda Martyrs in the Vatican when a group of Christians from Uganda travelled with them. Father Opiyo says such changes are eminent and absorbing them prevents radicalization and religious extremism from infiltrating the church.
According to Father Opiyo, as the world changes, many elements of culture are entering the church including the way we bless Christians in churches.
Father Opiyo says being too extreme to accommodate new world changes constitutes religious hypocrisy which must be prevented. He cites those who refuse to be treated, eat or drink during pilgrimage as hypocrites the Church cannot entertain.
On having an ambulance trail them, he had this to say.
Florence Lamunu Komakech, the matron of Gulu Foot Pilgrims has participated in a pilgrimage to Namugongo alongside pilgrims from Lira Diocese before starting the Gulu Foot pilgrimage to Namugongo two years ago. She says they intended the pilgrimage to reflect the spiritual way of the cross in the inaugural year until new changes entered in the second year.
Lamunu says they encouraged Christians to pray along the way and reflect on the reasons for their pilgrimage in order not to miss the mark.
Father Joseph Mukasa Muwonge, a priest devoted to the martyrs at Namugongo Martyrs Shrine says the core traditions of pilgrimage involve walking and making sacrifices to the Lord in various ways including spiritual sufferings.
Archbishop of Gulu, Dr John Baptist Odama says pilgrimage is a witness to the finished works of Christ. He says it dignifies mankind before God and those taking it to preach demonstrate that God should be obeyed always and everywhere.
While there are few studies done on how pilgrimage has changed over the years, technology is no doubt taking a toll on Pilgrimage to the holy lands. In some faith, like Islam, the journey to Mecca or Medina has certain traditions which have never been diluted since their invention.
