Kibuuka's Evangelical Orthodox Church, Catholic lawyers agree to end hostilities

The Uganda Catholic Lawyers Society and the Evangelical Orthodox Church (EOC) in Uganda headed by Bishop Jacinto Kibuuka have reached an agreement that will see both parties end hostilities towards each other.

Following Kibuuka’s breakaway from the Catholic Church where he previously served as a priest, both sides have not seen eye to eye with each other.

However, in a consent agreement arising out of a court case filed in 2017, both parties have agreed to end the attacks against each other.

“The respondents(Catholic lawyers’ society) , their agents or servants acting under them shall forthwith cease vilification of the applicant’s faith(Kibuuka) by making religious insults, defamation of the Evangelical Orthodox religion, faith or its leaders or its members, denigration of that faith, offending religious feelings of that faith or the contempt of the religion and making hate speech against its leaders,” the agreement reads in part.

According to the agreement signed before Justice Musa Ssekaana, Bishop Kibuuka’s Evangelical Orthodox Church will also be expected not to making any comments or utterances that are deemed as an attack onto the Catholic Church, whose interest the group of lawyers serve.

Commenting about the matter, Bishop Jacinto Kibuuka hailed the move as a great answer to what he termed as religious intolerance.

“People are fighting over small issues. If you don’t agree with someone, it doesn’t call for malice, slander and fighting. To me, this agreement shows maturity in faith and maturity in the service of Jesus Christ. It makes sense to each and everyone to respect each other’s faith,” Kibuuka said in a phone interview.

He insisted that despite the slight differences, both camps belong to the wider group of Christians.

“We are all Catholics. Whereas others are Western Catholics, others are Eastern Catholics but we worship the same God. We are all Christians and worship the same God. We are brothers and sisters and there is no need for fighting and shouting at each other.”

Background

There has been bickering between the Rubaga based set up and their former Catholic who was in 2016 suspended from his priestly duties.

He would later quit the Roman Catholic Church for the Orthodox Church and was later consecrated as the new Bishop of the Antiochian Eastern Orthodox Church in Uganda and Eastern Africa.

Shortly after his consecration, Catholic lawyers filed for criminal prosecutions against Kibuuka on accusations of uttering words and engaging in act that ‘injured feelings’ of the Roman Catholic Church leaders and followers when he referred to them as ‘abayaaye’(crooks) while appearing on a local radio station.

Kibuuka, who had been ordained into priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church in 2008 announced his decision to leave the church to concentrate on his Mamre Prayer Centre in Namugongo, Wakiso District.

He was later consecrated as a Bishop for the Eastern Orthodox Church (EOC), which is part of the Orthodox Church and claims to be the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus.