Why the church should focus on the bigger picture, not sideshows

Pope Francis celebrates Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, on January 1, 2022. [Reuters]

Pope Francis is a courageous and fearless leader who doesn't shy away from addressing thorny issues and new challenges facing the church in the world today.

His recent pastoral advisory on blessings for Christians in "irregular relationships" - including divorcees, polygamous and LGBTQ couples - has caused quite a stir especially in Africa.

All the adverse reaction, however, has focused on the gay community while ignoring the plight of divorced, remarried and polygamous families that make up the bulk of our Sunday congregations.

The Chairman of the Bishops Conference, Archbishop Martin Kivuva, promptly released a statement clarifying what Pope Francis had said and intended. He explained that the Pope did not sanction Christian marriage as a sacrament among homosexuals nor did he approve rituals like a blessing ceremony in a liturgical setting for them either. What he did allow priests to do was respond pastorally to a "spontaneous" request for a blessing. Something quite different altogether. Anyone asking for a blessing is asking for God's assistance with the knowledge that a blessing is an unconditional gift and it is God who blesses.

The Pope was reaching out pastorally to show that homosexuals are part of the Christian family, and they too need prayers, respect and blessings. No one is excluded from the love and mercy of God.

However, fellow prelates all over the country obviously felt their chairman had not gone far enough and they proceeded to issue their own edicts, letters and pronouncements warning that no such blessings should take place in their jurisdiction.

We bless schools, harvests, pets, offices, the sick, the dying and even weapons of war, but they won't allow blessings for two people of the same gender who love one another. Of course, Jesus experienced the rejection and incredulity that Francis is now experiencing when he dined with prostitutes and tax collectors and dared to welcome lepers. It would appear that for some prelates, homosexuals are the new lepers.

What we didn't hear from these opponents of Francis' teaching is whether they will bless polygamous families or the divorced and separated who have remarried, who are also in irregular relationships. This is arguably a greater concern for the church in Africa at this moment but is not being addressed pastorally.

Yet it is noticeable how matters of sexual morality stir greater public interest than that of social justice. There is something incongruous about the idea that prelates want to police bedroom matters and be experts in an area they themselves should have very little experience of.

Yet, right now the vast majority of Kenyans are not concerned about bedroom matters but about kitchen ones and putting food on the table to feed their children. In the next week, most religious leaders are more likely to have needy parents knocking on their doors seeking assistance with school fees, transport and requirements, than gay couples seeking a blessing. The Gospel of Jesus has only a few references to issues of sexual morality but lots to say about love, inclusivity, mercy, equality and care for the rejected, the leftovers and excluded in a cruel society. Children will be back in public schools next week and most likely be sent home within days to collect fees to supplement the failure of the government to pay last term's capitation fees, or to release the promised NG-CDF funds that would grant them bursaries.

Furthermore, with NHIF unable and unwilling to continue to pay medical bills for secondary school pupils, additional fees will be passed on to the already weary parents. The education and health sectors are in crisis, the Judiciary under siege and two hundred shillings required to buy one pound sterling yet some prelates confine their deliberations to bedroom affairs.

Yet, the church is probably the largest stakeholder in these critical sectors, providing over 40 per cent of services. That gives it a voice and a space to not only speak on its own behalf but on those at the bottom of the pile whose children may be denied the chance to get a proper chance in life.

The church must stand up, speak out and get off the fence. Kenyans are crying and God hears the cry of the poor.