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Children from Ankawa camp,
Erbil, Iraq,
outside ACN’s ‘Fr Werenfried Village’ temporary classrooms.
© Aid
to the Church in Need/Anton Fric
|
Today's Guest Blogger is Conrad, a Deacon who is waiting to be ordained to the priesthood; Conrad is from Uganda and got in touch when he heard about ONE NIGHT through Facebook and Twitter. Read on to discover his views on Religious Freedom, ACN and the plight of Iraqi Christians.
1. Please give us a bit of info about yourself (first
name, occupation, background, etc)
I am Nkamwesiga Conrad a Roman Catholic
Deacon at St. Mary’s National Seminary. I am born to a family of twelve
members, two being our parents and 10 being us the children. None of us
children has completed studies. My father is a catechist and my mother does
subsistence farming at home. I started my primary education in 1993 St. Mukasa
Seminary, Secondary and High school at St. Michael’s High School from
2000-2006. I joined Uganda Martyrs’ National Seminary for Philosophical studies
from 2007-2010 then went for pastoral experience in Buhimba Catholic Parish
where I spent a year. I am now at St. Mary’s National Seminary for Theological
studies. This is my last semester of formation and I hope to be ordained a
priest in July. Considering my studies, I desired to become a priest when I was
young as they were ordaining one of the priests in my home parish. I said I
must become a priest. I have worked in people’s gardens and compounds to earn
school fees. I now look forward with a stressed mind to my ordination because
much is needed like material and equipment to use in the ministry.
2. Why are you
interested in the issues surrounding Religious Freedom in our world today?
Religious Freedom was declared in Dignitatis humanae (Of the Dignity of the
Human Person) in the Second Vatican Council. The Council stated intention “to
develop the doctrine of recent popes on the inviolable rights of the human
person and the constitutional order of society”. Dignitatis humanae spells out
the Church's support for the protection of religious liberty. More
controversially, it set the ground rules by which the Church would relate to
secular states, both pluralistic and officially Catholic nations. This
declaration was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on December 7, 1965. With an
informed conscience, everyone has to embrace any Religion he/she wishes.
Religious freedom has its foundation in the dignity of the person as understood
through human reason, having its roots in divine revelation. Therefore
Christians are called to an even more conscientious respect for religious
freedom. Man’s response to God in faith must be free-no person is to be forced
to embrace Christianity. This is a major tenet of the Catholic faith, contained
in Scripture and proclaimed by the Fathers. Religious freedom contributes to
the environment where such free response is possible. God’s own call to serve
him binds persons in conscience but is not compulsion. God has regard for the
dignity of all human beings as shown in the actions of Christ himself. Jesus
did acknowledge the legitimacy of governments, but refused to impose his
teachings by force. The Apostles followed His word and example. The Church is
therefore following Christ and the Apostles when she recognized the principle
of religious freedom, based both on the dignity of human persons and divine
revelation. The Church herself does require a full measure of freedom, a sacred
freedom, to carry out her mission. Therefore, religious freedom can be looked
at from the point of view of the action of the will in morals. All persons have
a right to religious liberty, a right with its foundation in the essential
dignity of each human being. All persons must be free to seek the truth without
coercion. The highest norm of human life is the divine law and truth, but it
can only be sought after in the proper and free manner, with the aid of
teaching or instruction, communication and dialogue, and it must be adhered to
by personal assent. This freedom from coercion in religious affairs must also
be recognized as a right when persons act in community. As such a community,
and in fact a society in its own original right, has the right to live its own
domestic religious life in freedom, in particular the freedom to choose
religious education. The government is to protect the rights and equality of
all citizens as part of its essential role in promoting the public good, and a
wrong is done when a government imposes profession or repudiation of any
religion. Religious freedom is exercised in society, therefore is subject to
certain regulatory norms, again to ensure the common welfare. Freedom and
responsibility must balance and religious freedom must have as its aim to
promote persons acting with greater responsibility.
St. Paul in the Bible, commented on the range of
beliefs among Christians. The situation by the middle of the 1st Century CE was
not unlike the variety of beliefs and practices seen among Christian denominations
today. He called for intra-faith harmony. Paul urged believers to be tolerant
of others who may follow different dietary rules, or hold religious services on
a different day. He recommends that believers avoid doing anything that might
make a fellow believer stumble in this faith. Romans 14:1-23 "Receive one
who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. For one
believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. Let
not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat
judge him who eats; for God has received him. One person esteems one day above
another; another esteems every day alike. Let each one of us be fully convinced
in his/her mind. But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt
for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgement seat of
Christ...Therefore let us not judge one another any more, but rather resolve
this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's/sister’s
way.
3.Have you supported Aid to the Church in Need before?
How might you be interested in helping in the future?
I have not supported Aid
to The Church in Need before, reason being just got to know about it of recent
by the direction of my spiritual sponsor who was trying to contact the
Organisation for me to acquire vestments donation. Personally I have the
charism to help. I have met several children in my village lacking scholastic
materials and I have helped where possible. But my future dream after becoming
a priest, I wish to establish a children clinic because they need special care
since they are the future Church. I wish my role in the community should also
be taking care of the elderly who lack special care of their family members and
relatives.
4. What is your message to those Iraqis who are currently suffering
persecution both as displaced people within Iraq and as refugees elsewhere?
I
assure them of my daily prayers and encourage them to put their total faith in
God. Perhaps we can have the greatest lesson from the book of Job is that God
does not have to answer to anyone for what He does or does not do. Job’s
experience teaches us that we may never know the specific reason for suffering,
but we must trust in our sovereign, holy, righteous God. His ways are perfect
(Psalm 18:30). Since God’s ways are perfect, we can trust that whatever He
does-and whatever He allows-is also perfect. We can’t expect to understand
God’s mind perfectly, as He reminds us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts”
(Isaiah 55:8–9).
Our responsibility to God is to obey Him, to trust
Him, and to submit to His will, whether we understand it or not. When we do, we
will find God in the midst of our trials—possibly even because of our trials.
We will see more clearly the magnificence of our God, and we will say, with
Job, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you” (Job 42:5).
The life of Job is proof that man usually has no idea
what God is doing behind the scenes in the life of each believer. All humans
ask the question “Why do bad things happen to good people?” It is the age-old
question, and difficult to answer, but believers know that God is always in
control, and, no matter what happens, there are no coincidences-nothing happens
by chance. Job was a believer; he knew that God was on the throne and in total
control, though he had no way of knowing why so many terrible tragedies were
occurring in his life.
Job never lost his faith in God, even under the most
heartbreaking circumstances that tested him to his core. It’s hard to imagine
losing everything we own in one day-property, possessions, and even children.
Most men would sink into depression and even become suicidal after such a
nightmare; however, Job never wavered in his understanding that God was still
in control. Job’s three friends, on the other hand, instead of comforting him,
gave him bad advice and even accused him of committing sins so grievous that
God was punishing him with misery. Job knew God well enough to know that He did
not work that way; in fact, he had such an intimate, personal relationship with
Him that he was able to say, “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will
surely defend my ways to his face” (Job 13:15)
Thank you, Conrad, for this heart-felt and moving statement of you feelings and beliefs. Good luck on your chosen path of the Priesthood and ACN is very pleased to have your support!
To learn more about ONE NIGHT for Religious Freedom, to find out how you can get involved, to donate to ACN's work with displaced and refugee Iraqis, or to express your interest in attending ONE NIGHT, please visit out webpage here.
