The Ordination of Roman Catholic Women:
Uganda

by Cecilia Namayanja, I.H.M.

New Woman, New Church, New Priestly Ministry

Proceedings of the Second Conference on the Ordination of Roman Catholic Women
November 1978, Baltimore, U.S.A. pp 69 - 71.
Published on our website with permission of the Women's Ordination Conference

Cecilia Namayanja, IHM, a native of Uganda, is currently a student at the University of Illinois.

Uganda is an East African country about the size of the state of Pennsylvania. It consists of about 11 million people, the majority of whom are Catholic. It is divided into various regions and consists of more than 23 tribes, groups of people who speak their own language and have different customs, food and rituals. Most Ugandan families are large and the father is always head of the family, so it is obvious that women are considered second class.

The church in Uganda is built on a strong foundation and was washed by the blood of the Uganda martyrs, the 22 men who were canonized in 1964 by Pope Paul VI. It is their faith that has encouraged most Ugandans to stand firm through the political disturbances. The Catholic Church in Uganda is celebrating its 100th anniversary. In 1913 the church obtained its first native priest, the Rt. Rev. Msgr. Victor Mukasa. In 1976 the church in Uganda received its own native Cardinal, Emmanual Nsubuga in Kampala Archdiocese, which means that the three East African countries have their own cardinals. It is a faith so full of life that by 1976 it had fostered some 6,000 catechists, some 1500 religious women, 300 religious men and 350 priests, who have worked hard in the Lord’s mission.

Are there women who want to be ordained?

There is a minority of women in Uganda who want to be ordained. Their group seems to be exclusively composed of the elite women of the society, i.e., women who either have been educated abroad (Western Europe or America) or who have tasted Western culture and education in our higher institutes of education.

Are there women working in ministry?

There is a great number of women, especially religious sisters. Their ministries include catechetics, social work, and various ministries related to hospitals. Nursing homes are also included, although there are not as many as in the U.S. because in Uganda most families are responsible for their aged (extended families). Concerning the parishes, I quote from Fr. Robert Backis, who last year went to Uganda to attend the ordination of some Ugandan seminarians he had supervised at St. Charles Lwanga parish in Chicago: “Rather than constructing and developing monolithic, faceless communities of rootless Christians, each parish community is broken into smaller Christian communities, each of which is headed by a President elected by the people. It is in the context of the small Christian community that formation takes place. The catechist occupies primary importance in the community, being responsible for the teaching and formation of the community. In outlying villages which cannot yet sustain and maintain a separate parish community, it is the catechist who leads Sunday worship and teaches the Word.” Also in a diocese with a scant number of priests, some bishops have authorized sisters to run parishes (locally known as outstations). The priests come to such a parish, consecrate the hosts and leave. Subsequent to this, the religious women in charge of the parish will hold communion services, and bible services for the members of the parish.

How do people respond to women in ministry?

Response of the people seems to vary from diocese to diocese. Generally, as Fr. Backis observed, “The members of the church in Uganda make no excuses for themselves. They are proud of their church — it is very much their own. There is a sense of ownership, and belonging and pride. The people have fashioned and formed a church which is indigenous — yet a church which is at home with deep-rooted tradition of the Roman Church.”

In areas with few priests, people are learning to accept women (they usually prefer religious to laywomen, since many still identify ministry with celibacy) in ministries they never exercised before. But even in such areas, as elsewhere in the country, there is a very strong resistance to women performing certain ministries, especially those related to “handling the sacred species.” As far as other ministries are concerned, like catechetics, social work, hospital ministries, lecturing — women ministers are accepted very readily. This may be due to the fact that to the people these are ministries not with a capital “M” but are mere services which any member of the congregation can volunteer to do.

Is the issue of women’s ordination tied to other social justice issues?

To the great majority of people (excluding the elites mentioned above) the issue of ordination of women is not seen in terms of oppression and women’s lib, as tends to be the case in the West. Everybody at home seems to believe (this is true of both men and women) that priesthood is for men, just as motherhood is for women. In a society where male and female roles are very individuated, this kind of reasoning is very much at home. Also note that Uganda is a country of many different tribes, each of which considers that its essential and ultimate aim is to persevere in its existing form and carry on as it was established by its ancestors. These societies have not existed in a static and immutable form; they have gone through various processes of transformation and development. Nevertheless, in such societies change is more gradual than in modern societies. Whatever will be the case with continued Westernization, I cannot speculate. It must be noted, though, that the trend as far as most educated Africans are concerned is right now Africanization rather than Westernization.

Do the Church and Ugandans need women’s ministry and ordination?

As far as the ministries which have been traditionally carried on by women are concerned, Ugandans see the need for their continued existence. The church in Uganda is a community looking to the future, planning for the needs of the community. This planning is carried out through the pastoral council, which represents the Christian communities throughout Uganda. Recently, the church came up with a five-year plan which was formulated and will be implemented by the Christian communities. But as far as women’s ordination is concerned it seems to be a non-issue yet in Uganda. God has blessed the church with many vocations so far. There are a lot of young men who are responding to God’s call to dedicate their lives fully to proclaim the Gospel of Christ and have the people of God grow in number and quality. Thus for the time being, any need which may seem to manifest itself in Uganda is really a created one rather than a real one.

Reflecting on the reality of the church in Uganda, I still do feel that a longstanding question emerges: “Is it possible to be an Afrikan woman and run the responsibility of the Church?” There is a question of lifestyle. Being a priest calls for a particular way of living that stands in contradistinction to what is stereotyped “Afrikan culture.”

If it is taking so long for the highly developed countries, who have had church functionaries for a long time now, how long will it take the church in Uganda? Wouldn’t it be better for some countries to experiment with women’s ordination while others are waiting for the outcome? Each person must decide what serves him/her best, to understand and respond to his/her role in the Church. The church is ready to explore, to experiment and to venture the work of the spirit on the road less travelled but well worth taking.

Copyright (c) 2007: All of the texts and techniques (pedagogical and relational)
displayed in this site are copyrighted materials.