Fr. Anthony Musaala: Marriage Is No Solution to Unfaithfulness nor Guarantor of Happiness

By Valerian Kkonde

PEARL NEWS SERVICE

Bishop Christopher Kakooza-Right- lays hands on the seminarians to be ordained deacons in Lubaga Cathedral in 2011.Priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church is an individual choice granted after thorough training and confirmation of the candidate's physical and mental sanity. Photo by Valerian Kkonde/PNS

Fr. Anthony Musaala’s missive: An open Letter to Bishops, Priests and Laity: The Failure of Celibate Chastity among Diocesan Priests- has sent ripples among believers and non believers alike.

The missive, which is laced with hatred, anger, bitterness and self vendetta against the Roman Catholic Church, loses out on an important subject- Faithfulness- once Fr. Musaala narrows it to the Roman Catholic Church and uses it as an excuse to label the Institution as evil incarnate. It raises more questions than solutions to his “exciting challenge to bring fundamental change and renewal to the Catholic Church.”

Musaala’s ulterior motives are brought to light when he wakes up and tells the whole world that after the many years of priestly formation, coupled with years of priestly life he does not understand celibacy in the Roman Catholic Church. Has he been married all these years and all over a sudden ordered to lead a celibate life? What sort of life has he been living? What hypocrisy!  

The Roman Catholic Church has a very elaborate system of priestly formation. Those who join the Seminary in primary school take more than twenty years. Others, who join the Seminary after say the university, have at least eight years of formation.

After the first three years of Philosophy, the seminarian is given an opportunity to go for Pastoral work which usually takes one year. After the Pastoral experience the seminarian goes for the Theological studies.

It is worth noting that the seminarians, before going for Pastoral work, he receives what the Church calls Minor Orders. The seminarian is given powers to officially assist the priests in some cases like distribution of the Holy Eucharist. But this is after he has applied for the Orders. This one year is meant to enable the seminarian critically consider the Vocation he is pursuing so that he makes an informed decision.

After the four years of Theology, the seminarian is ripe for the Orders of Deaconate. But still he has to apply. After that he is destined for the Priesthood. Still he has to apply to be ordained by the bishop. At ordination he promises to lead a celibate life while he says Mass, Preaches and administers Sacraments.

Musaala is well aware of all these. I am not lecturing to him but simply trying to help the Christians and the general public see through his lies and well calculated move to distort the truth in a bid to justify his failures, weaknesses and, most likely, his decision to quit the Catholic Church.
I highly doubt that His Grace Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga would have barred Musaala from quitting. He would not have been the first or the last. 

The Archbishop tried to pump sense in Musaala reminding him of the origin, role and importance of celibacy in the Roman Catholic Church. But is he listening?

“Everyone should once again remember that until Christ came along (Mt 19:12), and then Paul (1 Cor. 7:32-35), the only state of life known was marriage but when Christ came, He made it clear that some people would remain celibate (“eunuchs”) for the sake of the Kingdom of God (Mt 19:12). St. Paul further recommended it for those who would be dedicated to serving God in this world (1 Cor. 7:7, 17, 32-35), for the salvation of souls and it is totally a freedom of choice as the above biblical quotations suggest.”

Musaala, sincere and well intentioned, would have known that we are called to serve the Lord in different capacities. Some are married and others are Religious, and still others are priests. Each calling has its special demands which we have to fulfill. Any one who undertakes any of those ways of life is requested to promise, make vows, before the Church that s/he will remain faithful to the calling.

When called to serve the Lord we are required to remain faithful to that call. But that at times we are unfaithful does not make our calling irrelevant or a stumbling block to our relationship with the Lord. The calling is not the problem; the one called is the problem.

It is sheer nonsense for Musaala to state that the dwindling numbers of Christians in Europe and America are due to the unfaithfulness of the Roman Catholic priests. Musaala is candidly introducing his new teaching to the effect that it is only the Roman Catholic priests who have to be faithful to their calling. In actual sense Musaala is telling the people to do as they wish while demanding Roman Catholic priests to be committed to their vocation! 

Musaala is indeed a danger to the Catholic Church as he distorts its tenets. His teaching that the only answer to the unfaithful priests is marriage is another case in point. Since when has Marriage been devoid of responsibilities and challenges?

Musaala is feigning ignorance of the many families that have broken up due to unfaithfulness on the part of one of the parties. Musaala who is evidently bent on marrying is arguing for the sake of it that he can pluck off the feathers of a horn bill after he failed to pluck those of a finch. Being a musician I believe he is aware of the late Paul Job Kafeero’s song where he uses the analogy of the horn bill and the finch to dismiss illogical reasoning.  

And as fate would have it, his timing of the release of his teaching coincided with the hullabaloo caused by the Marriage and Divorce Bill. The Lord did it and we marvel at it.

Unfaithfulness is the reason behind Uganda’s acquisition of the tag of a failed state. How does Musaala relate this to celibacy in the Roman Catholic Church?

 Musaala’s problem is that he does not want to admit, on his own, that he wants to marry. But as anger and bitterness take the best of him he writes in his teaching that: “I am aware that there is a big struggle ahead. Unfortunately celibacy also serves certain vested interests in the power structure of the church, and of course celibate priests are cheaper and easier to deal with, even to manipulate, by ecclesiastical authority, but I believe that in time we will be freed from this unnecessary yoke, unhelpful as it is, which is all the more severe in Africa where family and family ties are so crucial to one’s psychological equilibrium.”

Whatever Musaala’s next stop may be, it is prudent that he remains faithful to himself and his God. That is what every one of us should do. Musaala needs to appreciate the disintegration of the family which is the nursery for all good morals, and thus factor in its subsequent repercussions on society and stop blaming everything on the Roman Catholic Church.

It is the family which gives these priests to the Church. The family is also the first seminary where the first thought of joining the seminary is natured. It is also the family which produces the corrupt politicians, the murderers and all the people in the world. When the family fails in its duties then society is doomed. 

While the Roman Catholic Church has a duty to improve the political, social and economic situation in which its followers reside- and it is performing well in schools, hospitals, banks, and other development programs- it should not be held responsible for the injustices brought about by the politicians’ greed and the public’s failure to get involved in the management of society at all levels. However much Musaala may distort the facts, the Roman Catholic Church’s strong tradition of social justice work cannot be overlooked.

And the Roman Catholic Church strives to consolidate this by protecting the family which is under attack not only by politicians but by homosexuals and lesbians as well. May be this is what Musaala hates to hear. If the Roman Catholic Church’s position on Homos and Lesbians has anything to do with this missive, time will definitely tell. 

Musaala’s vendetta against the Roman Catholic Church is further revealed when he proposes that it should be identical with the other religions in how it goes about its duties. It is true that the Roman Catholic Church has similarities with the Protestants and Orthodox- Protestants broke away from the Catholic Church in 1534 while the Orthodox broke away in 1054- but if celibacy is the difference so let it be.

For Musaala to maintain that the Roman Catholic priests are forced to embrace celibacy is not just unfortunate but it helps to reveal the true Musaala. “This unnecessary yoke,” as Musaala refers to celibacy, was never forced on him and should not fool any one that he is under hostage in the Roman Catholic Church. Musaala should be humble, however hard it may be, and declare that while nobody forced him to join the seminary- well knowing that priests do not marry- applied to be raised to the Order of deaconate and subsequently a priest, he has failed to remain faithful to the celibacy vows.

Why does Musaala engage in celibacy-bashing because some priests have failed to remain faithful? How about those who have remained faithful to their priestly and religious vows? Musaala is clearly confused and this is brought to light by referring to the Anglican priests who were allowed to stay with their wives when they joined the Roman Catholic Church. Musaala is here playing the fool since he admits that those were married in the Anglican Church. But Musaala joined the seminary well knowing that Roman Catholic priests do not marry. That is hypocrisy at its best.

A critical look at Musaala’s missive indicates that he is one of those who are also calling for the ordaining of women to priesthood. This is a position the Roman Catholic Church continues to keep at bay. But does one have to be a priest so as to serve the Lord any way? Does a priest have to be married so as to be faithful? Is Musaala insinuating that unfaithful married couples should be allowed to divorce in the Roman Catholic Church? 

In March 2009, The New Vision reported two ex-Gays Paul Kagaba and George Oundo indicating that Musaala is a homosexual. He vehemently denied this. But from his missive, he is unintentionally saying that he is not alone.  Musaala is shouting at the top of his voice to let the world know that those “priests and bishops who have not been accused of homosexuality have children.” It smacks of mudslinging! 

Musaala stated this in black and white: “What I found troubling is what followed.  Apart from all the pain and scandal caused to all concerned, I found that even though all the allegations were based on hearsay, I was being treated, by my superiors as the biggest sinner in Nineveh.

Up till now judgments are being made against me by ecclesiastical authority in the light of those events, which I suppose is to be expected. I wondered about this and came to the conclusions that priests who ‘get caught’ like me, have to pay for the sins of all those who don’t get caught.”

In the missive Musaala treads cautiously by preferring to state that he does not remember whether he ever engaged in homosexuality with his accusers. He neither summarily dismisses them nor categorically denies it.

It is rather strange that Musaala who maintains that homosexuals and lesbians need Christ’s mercy thinks otherwise about his brother priests who fail to remain faithful to their priestly vocation. It is that selective entertainment of pardon of sinners that makes all his teaching and dealings rather suspicious. 

When Musaala, until recently a Roman Catholic priest, pretends not to know or offers a teaching of Penance contrary to the established position the conclusion is bound to be that he is up to something fishy. 

More troubling is the fact that he has never, in any way, tried to assist his fellow priests out of that precarious situation. For sure Musaala’s love for the Gays and Lesbians is suspect when compared to the hatred he is exhibiting towards his fellow priests and the Roman Catholic Church as a whole. 

Then the month of March; March was the month in 2009 when Kagaba and Oundo accused Musaala of being a homosexual. The missive, which at Pearl News Service is being referred to as the Musaala Teaching, was issued from Mirembe Gardens. This is the place which the duo identified as Musaala’s base for coordinating homosexual activities. 

This is further confirmation that Musaala had long excommunicated himself from the Roman Catholic Church. Regretting his time with the Roman Catholic Church, Musaala says that the Institution is so rotten that even prayers cannot redeem the situation. He goes on to accuse the Roman Catholic Church of all sorts of inefficiencies as if he was never allowed to rectify the wrongs or that the Church sanctions and promotes unfaithfulness.

“One must remember that there are other challenges facing the church, such as general weakening of faith, loss of sacramental life, low incomes, dull liturgies, and the challenges of the media.”

Musaala’s teaching that the Catholic Church is bent on promoting evil is rather absurd. It is also untenable because he knows that this Institution is holy as it was purified by its founder, Christ, and has always taught that the members must hate sin but love sinners. Members, whatever their calling, do not pretend to be holy but strive for holiness. Let me hope Musaala is not questioning Christ’s divinity and sanctifying power. 

It seems Musaala was indirectly aiming insults at the Sacraments as taught by the Roman Catholic Church. Fortunately, even when he finally does so, the faithful have been prepared for his campaign after firing the warning shot.  

It is pertinent to ask: If Musaala does not understand Ordination, does he understand Matrimony? How about Penance? How then can he claim to understand the Holy Eucharist to which all these other sacraments tend? 

There is also a nagging feeling that Musaala might not even understand the missive he authored. Otherwise it defeats logic to claim that the missive is “for education and purification purposes” yet it is driven by hatred, anger, bitterness and revenge. This scares away the intended recipients and casts the teacher in bad light.    

One of the things I am proud of is the seminary training that I acquired up to Katigondo National Major Seminary. Teaching us about pastoral experience, Msgr. Gervase Mukasa told us to assist one another as we pursued the priestly formation.

“You stay together and know one another very well than us priests do. You know every one’s weaknesses and abilities. Although it is us priests who make your recommendations, you are best suited to do this.

If a colleague is taking another step and you very well know that he should not, assist him not to so that he avoids the consequences of his decision. For your information the consequences may be more adverse to you who failed to offer the right guidance than to him who commits the actual wrong.”

Wonderful counsel!  There is no doubt that as we journey to the Father, we have to assist one another; we are our brother’s keeper.

It is absurd that Anthony Musaala is reinforcing misconceptions like: celibacy is impossible, a man or a woman cannot have one partner and that a human being cannot do without sex.

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. In fact the Chinese have a saying which goes: The person who says that it cannot be done should not interrupt the one doing it.

This year Uganda marked 134 years since Fr. Simeon Lourdel Mapeera and Brother Delmas Amans landed at Kigungu on the shores of Lake Victoria bringing Christ’s light. Uganda is also celebrating a hundred years of native priesthood. And after getting 22 martyrs and two blessed young men: Daudi Okello and Gildo Irwa, the Roman Catholic Church in Uganda is now sending out missionaries to America, Europe and other parts of the world.

On May 25, this year, Katigondo National Major Seminary will be celebrating her Centenary of priestly formation since 1911. Then Buganda Katikkiro tried to discourage Bishop Stensella from starting the seminary, arguing that Baganda young men could not put up with celibacy. At the ordination of Frs. Basilio Lumu and Victor Mukasa Womeraka, the Katikkiro apologized to the bishop. Like wise, Kabale Diocese is also celebrating a hundred years since the first missionary arrived there.

Many young men and women have joined formation institutions and they are the future priests, religious and of course married couples in the Holy and universal Roman Catholic Church. By the way I have a son who says he wants to be a priest and emulate my late uncle Msgr. Anatoli Kamya. A daughter wants to emulate my late auntie Sr. Celina Nakibirango who belonged to the Little Sisters of St. Francis - Nkokonjeru.  Musaala’s decision to become an obstacle to the priestly and religious vocations will not pay off. 

In his Homily at Kigungu on February 17 this year, His Eminence Emmanuel Cardinal Wamala referred to this Uganda as a “wounded nation due to corruption, murder, child sacrifice, political intrigue, violence in the homes…” 

These are no contradictions but mere emphasis of the nature of the human person who Christ entrusted with the administration of his holy mysteries in the Holy Church. Human beings are weak, unreliable and forgetful. But our ancestors in faith comfort us that it however possible to do God's will.

True, some priests have brought shame and suffering to the Roman Catholic Church by turning against the people entrusted to them. They have failed to serve in truth and let themselves be carried away by fashions which come and go. But there are many who are faithful to the gift of the priesthood given to them. They have kept their original zeal which they had when they were ordained.

The Roman Catholic Church in Uganda, and the world over, is aware of all the failings of the priests and religious  but is committed to helping all believers in Christ to acquire a more conscious and vigorous adherence to the Gospel. And whatever the Church does is for the greater glory of God.

The priests and religious who are no longer faithful, those who feel lonely and abandoned need support to be faithful to their calling. This applies to the married couples, the youth and children. The failure to assist one another at different levels is what has wounded Uganda. We cannot afford to continue turning against one another for we have a role to play as the Roman Catholic Church struggles to reinstall integrity, honesty and morals in Uganda and the world over. 

As for Happiness it is guaranteed in priesthood, religious life or married life once a person lives according to the set rules and guidelines. Every way of life or rather calling, has demands on the person who takes it up. There is no doubt that by preferring priesthood to marriage, you promise to live as a priest and not as a married man. Mind you none is a bed of roses.

 Musaala’s missive is a poisonous chalice which has made it impossible for any one to ever trust him again.