Pope Francis Should Offer A Public Apology To Emmanuel Shikuku

Pope Francis arriving at JKIA in Nairobi on Nov 25, 2015

It is characteristic of us as Africans not to wash our dirty linen in public. It is also considered a mark of maturity and responsibility to ‘cover each other’s nakedness’ especially whenever an important guest visits our homes. This implies that the host should maintain an aura of warmth, love and generosity in both word and deed, in spite of any acrimony pre-existing amongst his family members,in order to keep the visitor feeling at home and entertained for the duration of the visit.

Pope Francis detests any form of white-washing, going by the acts of humility and selflessness he has already demonstrated in the two days he has been here in Kenya. His impact will not be forgotten in decades to come as can be observed by his effortless ability to unite us as a nation despite our religious, racial, political, tribal, and social inclinations- something that our leaders have so far miserably failed.

For the first time, as long as I can remember, Kenya is united. One wishes that the fourth estate will assist in making this utopia feeling last for a little bit longer after the man of God departs later today, before resuming to bombard us with whatever else that sells.

The truth might be an offense, but it is not a sin, Bob Marley once said.It is my considered opinion that the pontiff be reminded that the issue of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is not exclusive to the North. Africans have actually over the years bore the brunt of this despicable vice facilitated by the culture of silence mostly encouraged by tradition that frowns upon talking back to or challenging the elders. The African’s inferiority complex, still existent today, gave permission to the perpetrators to continue with such virulent acts since no action would be taken against them; true to Eleanor Roosevelt’s words that no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

It is noteworthy that the arrival of missionaries in the continent  in the 19^th century, while heralding civilization, acted as intelligence for the colonial masters in tow. In return, the church was later on given a free hand to augment the government services as they spread the Good News.Thus,the African, whose confidence was already neutered by slavery hitherto legal, came up subdued by the colonial system of which the church was a passive facilitator.Suffering in silence thus became his portion.The clamour for self-rule later on offered political emancipation,but clearly not a mental one.

One can only imagine the sense of bewilderment the young Africans endured having been entrusted to the church for moulding, when confronted with the proposal to engage in these un-African and unnatural acts from the priests, who had taken celibacy vows. Vows whose objective is not yet clear if it is to pre-empt another probable temptation from Eve that will alter the course of humanity again, while giving Father Steve a free hand to ease the pangs of blue balls with the altar boys over whom he has a fiduciary relationship.

Humility

Many years down the line,one can only hope against hope that The Catholic Church of Kenya will address this issue of paedophilia,mistakenly believed to be a Western issue,and demand of the Pope to issue an apology to the many victims of sexual abuse before he leaves for Uganda. Unless the humble Pontiff is suggesting that Africans are lesser beings and that such victims who are scarred for life are not worthy of his attention, he should openly issue an apology to all Kenyans that have fallen victim to the cruel hand of the wayward priests, just like he did in Philadelphia, US  two months ago.

The venerable Cardinal John Njue should take the blame on behalf of the church for sweeping the matter under the rug since the earliest recorded cases of pedophilia and sexual abuse of 50 Goan altar boys in the 1960s (by one priest!),according to an audit report by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church. It has emerged that the altar boys are coerced by their superiors to provide sexual favours in exchange for being upgraded to the various levels of priesthood, and this,my dear friend,only reveals the tip of the iceberg as the majority of the victims choose to go with the shame to their graves.

The most pronounced case in Kenya must have been that of the courageous Emmanuel Shikuku (The late politician Martin Shikuku’s son) who underwent all manner of sexual abuse while undergoing training for priesthood here in Kenya and also in the UK (under the Mill Hill Missionaries order) between 1978 and 1994.In an exclusive interview with The Standard newspaper on February 9,2013 after instituting legal proceedings against the Catholic Church, Emmanuel narrated how he was first abused by a priest in Busia when he was nine years old and when he reported the matter to the Father, the same Father took him to his home and raped him in a bid to silence him. Death threats are not uncommon for those daring to expose some of these perverts masquerading as priests, it appears. He went ahead to drop out of priesthood and sunk deep into alcoholism as a result.

Celibacy

While the Pope’s address on the various social issues affecting us as a nation and the continent as a whole is welcome, it comes out as a bit pretentious when the issue of sexual abuse is so casually crossed out as unimportant in his agenda. Perhaps the debate on making celibacy optional should commence forthwith in The Vatican.

Kenya is known to be a Nation of firsts. The Catholic leadership is therefore encouraged to whisper this to the pontiff as they plan on a possible shuttle diplomacy to lobby for the same among traditionalists in the church.It might also go a long way in assisting in the re-unification with the splinter groups,and in the end help the man of the cloth face the truth that sex is an inevitable call of nature.

Scientific research has revealed that a man’s testicles produce 1,500 sperms per second. You can do the math on the weight he produces in a day, month, year and so forth. Where else will the good father unload this baggage if not on the innocent and the vulnerable, that is of course depending on the strength of his character, or lack thereof.

Cases of wayward priests siring children with female members of the congregation are almost an acceptable affair in villages across the country.These guys seriously deserve a break!

Let go

It is now apparent that the Roman Catholic Church in Kenya is doing the best it can to wish these misdeeds away, while in reality, an innocent young boy’s life might be forever altered at this very minute.

While our charismatic,catholic president, Uhuru Kenyatta,who appears to have enjoyed the most from the pontiff’s visit,wallows in this little heaven down here, let him do the little part that he must, to ensure that the likes of Emmanuel and the famous case of Maasai herdsboys receive restitution while the head of the Catholic Church is still in his living room.

Practically speaking, let Pope Francis issue a public apology during his tour to all Africans who have suffered such humiliating acts over the years under his church,while its impact is still manageable.This will help the victims move on with their lives;otherwise,sooner or later, the church will have to deal with this issue on a whole different dimension.