Church – State Relations in Uganda with Special Reference to Administration of Church-Founded Schools and Hospitals
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Date
2015
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Publisher
Tangaza University College
Abstract
For any pastoral agent in a foreign country one of the salient issues of
concern would be the person’s relationship with the civil authorities and the impact
and implications of his or her work in the society. The motivation for this essay
arises from two years of pastoral experience in Ethiopia (2009 -2011), from which
the writer was captivated by the church-state relations in this country to reflect back
on the situation and legal status of the Catholic Church in his home country Uganda.
It is interesting to note that in Ethiopia up to the time of this writing, all the
required documents such as identity cards and working permits for all foreigners in
pastoral activities of the Catholic Church are processed through the ECS. This is the
Ethiopian Catholic Secretariat, a body that deals with all matters pertaining to the
Catholic Church in partnership with respective state offices.
A lot of advantages accrue to such a procedure. First among others is the
securing of legal documents and acquisition of necessary facilities for apostolate and
humanitarian support projects. Second is the exemption from taxes for the use of
these facilities so long as they are not for profit. These include both movable assets
like vehicles for transport facilitation, and immovable assets especially land for
residence and projects such as schools and hospitals. Unfortunately, at all levels; social, political and economic, the Catholic
Church is taken as a Non- Governmental Organisation (NGO). In the local language
of the Borana People it is Dirigitti, which means Association, Company or
Organisation. This has a lot of impact on religious missionary presence and work in
Ethiopia today. For instance, many of the schools founded and run by the Holy
Ghost Fathers (Spiritans) could not get any assistance from the government in terms
of food and scholarly material such as books, simply because they belong to an
organization, which is the Catholic Church in this respect.
Relating the above scenario with studies in Church History and the Social
teaching of the Church, one can easily establish a chain and flow, a trend of
interaction and relation between Church and State. These have at times been close
allies in cooperation for the common good and yet at other times so antagonistic.
Behind all is a claim for both temporal and spiritual power on the side of Church
which civil rulers have accepted or rejected depending on how it suits their political
interests at a given time. This will be further elaborated in the first chapter of this
essay.
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Keywords
Church, State Relations, Administration of Church