Uganda's Critical Dossier Author Priest Suspended

By Daily Monitor
Africa Review
March 20, 2013

http://www.africareview.com/News/Uganda-anti-celibacy-crusader-priest-suspended/-/979180/1725430/-/2no6bdz/-/index.html

A photo montage of Fr. Anthony Musaala (left) and Archbishop of Kampala Cyprian Kizito Lwanga . FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

The Archbishop of Kampala, Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga, has suspended maverick cleric Fr Anthony Musaala, who authored a document criticising Catholic Church colleagues for sexual crimes among others.

Dr Lwanga, in a statement on Tuesday, said Fr Musaala had been suspended for the document, which “damages the good morals of the Catholic believers and faults the church’s teaching”.

According to Dr Lwanga, Fr Musaala admitted to authoring the document, which has been widely circulating on the internet.

“As per now, after the acceptance of Fr Musaala that he authored this document, the law prescribed by the Church in Can. 1369 takes its course. This law states that: “A person is to be punished with a just penalty, who, at a public event or assembly, or in a published writing, or by otherwise using the means of social communication, utters blasphemy, or gravely harms public morals, or rails at or excites hatred of or contempt for religion or the Church,” said the Archbishop.

“This means therefore, that Fr Musaala, because of the publication of his article in the public media, which damages good morals of Catholic believers and further expresses a wrong teaching against the Catholic Church’s teaching and that this stirs up hatred and contempt against the Church, he incurs a Ferendae sententiae penalty as prescribed by Can.1314, Dr Lwanga said in the statement.

He added: “This means that Father Anthony Musaala is suspended from celebrating sacraments and sacramentals, from the powers of governance in accordance to the law of the Church Can.1335 and1336§1n.1, 2and3 as investigations are being carried on.”

In his dossier, Fr Musaala alleges sexual abuse among Catholic clergy in Uganda and seeks open debate on allowing priests to marry instead of pretending to be celibate.

Fr Musaala also confessed in the document, to being sodomised at 16 while at the Seminary and implicated colleagues/bishops in having undisclosed children as well as secret children, accusing them of living a hypocritical life and hoodwinking a gullible flock.