Cosy ties between religious and political class is unhealthy

The annual Lenten season has begun: a time for praying, fasting and showing mercy to the poor. The Catholic Church launched its annual Lenten Campaign in Nyeri last weekend with the theme ‘Uniting, Healing and Renewal of our Nation.’ The sceptics might regard it as a boost to the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) while analysts may wonder how long these campaigns will continue before Kenyans experience the change that the church is demanding through its social teachings. The doubters have a point. I have been attending, guiding and supporting these campaigns for over a quarter of a century. Yet, extraordinarily we are still addressing same problems of poor leadership, corruption, ethnicity and contempt for the rule of law that were rife during the Kanu regime. Is the church then wasting time and resources on a strategy not delivering results or must they take a radically new and different approach?

Of course the campaign does lay a lot of emphasis on individual change. That is critical if we are to expect transformation that includes everyone. It is important for at least forty days to remind Christians that commitment does not begin and end in the sanctuary; there is the call to transform society and each of the faithful has a duty to play their part in that. Informing, educating and provoking the consciences of the individual are all part of the church’s mission, but is that enough?