Bishop Rukamba on the Catholic Church 50 year’s journey

HUYE-On September 8, thousands of catholic followers gathered at Butare cathedral to celebrate the diocese’s Golden jubilee.The Eucharistic celebration was spearheaded by Bishop Philippe Rukamba. In his sermon at the occasion, Monsignor Rukamba preached love, urging Christians to champion for better living conditions.A decree establishing the Diocese was signed by Pope John 23 on September 11, 1961.In this exclusive interview, Bishop Rukamba shares with The Sunday Times what the journey of the diocese has been for the last 50 years and the meaning of the Jubilee for the Church and its followers.ExcerptsQ: What is the meaning of this Golden Jubilee?A: This is a sign that the diocese is in action. Prior to the establishment of this Diocese, the area was part of a bigger Kabgayi Archdiocese until September 1961 when Pope John 23 signed a decree establishing it. Then, we were a recognised entity, with a legal status.Thereafter, the Diocese grew. Of current, it comprises of 26 parishes, counts 15 health centres and one district hospital. We have many schools, a university and a theological seminary.We count 106 priests, 65 brothers, 476 sisters. We have gone a long way.This Jubilee is a way of celebrating what we achieved and an opportunity to thank God while taking measures for the future.Q: Exactly, what have you achieved over the last 50 years?A: The word of God has reached to several individuals in this area; Christendom has extended to several members of the local community.This diocese, like many others in the country, started with a few number of members, but as days went by their number grew.As well, schools and health facilities were being erected while programmes to support thespiritual and socio-economical transformation of the population were introduced. Our efforts are still ongoing.In 1994, this Diocese was the worst affected in the country: We lost many parishioners, church members, priests, clergymen and women...In brief, we lost so many people. But as soon as it ended, we started to rebuild it little by little.It was hard work, but we had to accomplish it to make sure that we continue our ongoing journey to better life, that residents re-discover the desire to live and the strength to battle the evil. It required enough efforts to heal the wounded hearts; it required time to listen to the victims, educate them, and help them pray as way of supporting them in the healing process.On the promotion of education and good health, we work closely with the government. For instance, we have established so many schools. We have 86 nursery schools, 120 primary schools, four vocational training schools, 75 secondary schools, one university (the Catholic University of Rwanda) and two seminaries.The number of education and health facilities is far bigger than in the 1960s when the diocese started. The two situations are even harder to compare. And, we hope, their number will continue to increase.In the health sector, we are also working with the government to manage the various health centres so as to keep providing quality health care to members of the society.Q: What is the role of the Catholic Church and its followers in improving the living conditions of Rwandans, especially improving the lives of vulnerable individuals in the community?A: The church is making every effort to supports the needy amongst members of the society through Caritas. The support goes in various forms: One, we do support vulnerable individuals in order to take them out of poverty and secondly, there is a category of the middle class individuals who lack enough financial capacity to improve their lives. The institution like RIM (understand Reaseau Interdiocesain de Microfinance, a Catholic Church microfinance institution) targets the later group.Apart from efforts to bolster the socio-economic transformation of the lives of the population, we have also established two commissions which in different ways champion to build a better and strong society. One is the ‘Commission Justice et Paix’ which strives to bring about peace and justice in the community...and the Education and Health Commission which promotes quality education to all and better health practices.All is done in the spirit of improving people’s welfare. Q: What is your message to the Catholic Church followers?A: Our message is that Christians must do their best to follow the way Jesus Christ showed us.Love, kindness and unity should guide them. The first characteristic of Christians is portrayed in the love they show for God and their neighbour-observed through kingly acts towards our relatives, friends, neighbours, the oppressed, the needy and people with disabilities, etc.The message of love is also the central point for our jubilee celebrations: Dedicating our lives to God must be our guiding principle. When we bring God in our lives, our actions are of a kind and good nature. But in the opposite, we tend to destroy what others do and we forget the poor as we then think of ourselves only.For families, they must remain united and show love for each another. These days, there are a lot of factors which are demolishing families but the main one is the lack of respect and love. My message to families is that they must remain faithful to God through prayers. A family which prays remains united forever.