President William Ruto’s senior economic adviser, Moses Kuria
has backed the Catholic Church after the Church made headlines in recent days, including rejecting cash donations
from politicians.
In a statement on Tuesday, the outspoken Ruto ally said the
Catholic Church rarely gets anything wrong.
This he knows, he said because he’s Catholic and proscribes
to the church’s doctrines.
"My two rules as a Roman Catholic who has gone through the
Catechism process from Baptism, Holy Eucharist, Altar Boy to confirmation (As
Francis) by the late Michael Cardinal Otunga of Kibabii, rule number 1- The
Catholic Church is always right. Rule number 2, in case the Catholic Church is
wrong refer to rule number 1,” he said on his X feed.
On Sunday during a Mass service at the Soweto Catholic
Church in Embakasi East, Ruto and Nairobi Governor gave monetary donations to
the church and pledged to send more.
Ruto gave Sh600,000 to the church choir and Parish
Missionary Council (PMC) and Sh2 million towards the construction of the Paris
Priest’s house.
The head of state pledged a further Sh3 million towards the
construction of the house and gave a donation of a parish bus.
Sakaja gave Sh200,000 to the church choir and PMC.
But in a sudden turn of events, the head of the Catholic
Church in Nairobi, Archbishop Philip Anyolo, on Monday evening, said the church
would not take the donations.
The prelate cited the church’s strict adherence to the
Public Fundraising Appeals Bill, 2024, which prohibits appeals for fundraising
or benefits.
“Such fundraising appeals require a permit in accordance
with the Bill. Consequently, the donations made to Soweto Catholic Church on
Sunday, November 17 are in violation of these directives and the law,” Bishop
Anyolo said.
“These funds will be refunded to the respective donors,” he
added.
The bishop said politicians are welcome to attend church for
their spiritual nourishment but they are supposed to do so as ordinary
worshippers without leveraging their positions for political mileage.
Anyolo said the Catholic Church is strongly opposed to the
use of fundraisers and gatherings as platforms for political self-promotion and
guards against the receipt of cash donations to safeguard its sanctity.
“The bishops have consistently maintained a firm stance on the matter of politicians donating money to churches. Politicians are urged to refrain from turning the pulpit into a stage for political rhetoric.”Anyolo said this is for purposes of ensuring that the church remains a neutral institution that’s free from political influence for it to effectively serve as a space for spiritual growth and community guidance."
