According to the Figures, Kenya Should be Heaven

A Catholic priest in Malindi, who must have been taking lessons on how to win friends and influence people, has blamed women for the recent marriage between two Kenyan men in London. He says that it is the fault of women that men are now resorting to same sex relationships because women have failed to provide what they should in marriage.

If it was the priest's intention to alienate at least half, though probably a lot more, of his church attendees, it sounds like he succeeded. Women in the church replied vocally, something I have never come across in a Catholic church. Catholic services usually consist of a priest expressing his opinions and his interpretations and an audience expressing nothing other than a few set responses that have been composed by priests and other church dignitaries.

Apparently, women have failed to provide the joy that marriage should bring; the gay people who result from this failure of women go against God's intentions of procreation. I wonder if priests' vow of chastity also goes against God's intentions, but I'm sure their are plenty of arguments as to why priests should be chaste. The Catholic church has always had quite a penchant for preaching about things that they know little about.

In a separate article, African bishops have called for more 'saints' in public life, condemning some Catholic leaders for their corruption and their betrayal of their own people. Oddly enough, they didn't condemn some of the Catholic leaders around the world who have been very closely connected with the Vatican, or various Christian leaders who have, through the course of history, been some of the most destructive people imaginable.

Most meetings I have attended here in Kenya either start or finish with a prayer. Most meals start or finish with a prayer. Most people introduce themselves by saying what tribe they come from and what their religion is. Many claim to be preachers or to be 'saved' (born again; I realise these are not all Catholics but the principles at stake are the same, also, many people have more than one religion) and make numerous references to their religious aspirations. Does this mean that Kenya is one of the most law abiding nations on earth? I don't think so.

The priest in Malindi calls for more prayer but I would call for some thought to be put into the intended connection between prayer and how people lead their lives and the putative connections between religious beliefs and day to day actions. This priest also talks about the vice and evil that children are exposed to. What about the behaviour of political, business and church leaders? Children are surrounded by people who advocate one type of behaviour and exhibit a quite different kind.

Are children here more influenced by two gay men who got married than they are by the politically instigated violence of two years ago or the constant pilfering by politicians and other leaders or the daily scenes of police and other officials collecting bribes or any other sorts of behaviour that occur all the time?

The Catholic church is not a democracy and doesn't appear to have a good grasp of the principles of democracy. The church does not appear to have experience or knowledge of marriage or sexuality. Most priests and church leaders (and political and business leaders) are men and they seem to understand little about the lives of half the population of the world. Yet these are the things that priests and other church leaders seem to feel the need to lecture people about.

In fact, priests and other church leaders don't lead the lives of ordinary people. They don't have to struggle the way most of their followers do. So it is quite unclear what relevance their pronouncements have to their followers, or if they have any relevance at all.

If the numbers of people attending churches was anything to go by, Kenya should be a very law abiding country with little gap between rich and poor. But the contrary is true. I'm not saying that widespread religious fervour causes corruption, poverty, violence or exploitation but I would like to know what the result of so much ostensible religious adherence is supposed to be. Sphere: Related Content

How Many Fat Priests Can Dance on the Heads of the Starving?

There's an article on AllAfrica.com about the Kenyan census, which finished a couple of weeks ago, that starts off reasonably enough. The question about ethnicity may embarrass some groups whose numbers have been exaggerated in the past. Or the question may backfire if enough people refuse to answer it.

Then the article makes the point that it doesn't matter whether there are 40 million Kenyans or some other figure if most live in terrible conditions. True enough. But then the author seems to go off the rails and mentions the pope's call for a 'new economic order that will redistribute the planet's wealth'.

In addition to contraception or any matter relating to health, I would not seek advice from the pope on redistribution of wealth. Vatican City is one of the wealthiest states on earth. When its wealth is redistributed, then I may listen to the man. And corruption is not the preserve of the economic and political class. The churches, the Catholic church as much as any other, is part of the economic and political class.

Here in Kenya and other poor countries, churches are vying with each other to extract what they can from the very poorest, the people who can least afford to pay. And many priests live in comfort that most people wouldn't even dream of, because they wouldn't know it is possible.

The author goes on to point out that if we all lived the 'American dream' we would need five more planets the size of earth to support us. So, if we were all to live like the Catholic hierarchy, how many planets would we need?

I'd like the census to tell us how much poor Kenyans pour into the many churches that you see everywhere, what percentage of people's income is being extracted so priests can fatten their arses while all around them starve. Sphere: Related Content