With the number of active Christians in the West drastically reduced, the time for the Church in Africa to depend on financial help and donations from the West is soon coming to an end! For it is these active Christians who over the years have been sending us money! The Church in Africa has therefore a duty and an obligation to find means of becoming economically independent. In the West itself, due to reduced Church goers, some dioceses are already experiencing great economic difficulties.
Taking care of their priests and maintenance of church buildings has become a very heavy burden. So we should not expect much from there now.
But if the Church leadership in Africa is not economically informed, formed and trained, it is difficult to see how the Church in Africa can overcome its economic dependence. So this calls for a drastic change in the formation of those aspiring to the priesthood. In other words, there is an urgent need for the change of paradigm or model on which candidates to the priesthood are formed.
Up till now the African seminarian is formed on what I call a Theoretical Model or Paradigm. This paradigm concentrates and focuses only on the philosophical and theological formation of the seminarian. It does not equip him with practical tools and economic knowledge to enable him earn his own leaving. The paradigm assumes that it is the faithful who have to take care of the economic needs of the priest.
It is clear that there is scriptural support for this. For St. Paul writing to the Corithians says, “If we have sown spiritual good among you, is it too much if we reap your material benefits?” (1 Cor.9 :11). And he adds, “Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, … ?” In the same way the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. (1Cor.9 :13-14). But the concrete socio-economic circumstances of the time have to be taken into consideration when applying such a principle! Things have changed!
For example, some parishes founded by the first missionaries are no longer capable of financially supporting the native priests. And when a priest is posted in a very poor parish, the financial constraints and worries cannot allow him to perform his pastoral duties well. And he becomes a financial burden to the faithful who are also struggling to make ends meet. And this is possibly one of the reasons why many priests struggle to be posted in rich parishes especially those in towns. Of course it is totally wrong for a priest to focus all his attention on money, but being a human being, we should avoid putting him in a situation in which he is tempted to go in this direction.
So I propose that in the formation of seminarians, we shift from the Theoretical Paradigm to the Practical Paradigm. This Practical Paradigm in addition to the theoretical and intellectual formation of the seminarian is meant to equip him with knowledge of economics and practical tools to enable him earning his living. But I wish to make it very clear that, for a priest to earn his living is not meant to divert his attention from his pastoral activities. On the contrary, it is meant to be an integral part of his pastoral programme!
A priest, who can earn his living, should be in position to help his people uplift their living standards. And succeeding in this, is success in one’s concern and pastoral care for the flock. For a good shepherd is supposed to look after the sheep : spiritually, pyschologically and materially. If a priest and his flock succeed in putting up viable economic projects to sustain the parish and the poor people in it, this is for sure a great thing! (Certainly we know of priests who have turned themselves into businessmen and conmen, and have long ceased to be pastors, but we are not talking about those here)
Our High Priest Jesus Christ, the Model of all priests, was not ignorant of economics. Although he accepted donations during his Ministry and recommended it, we know very well that he had a trade and could earn his own living! He was a carpenter. And I have no reason to doubt it as some scholars do! For the Scriptures confirm it, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary…?” (Mk. 6:3). And being a son of a carpenter, the following hebrew saying adds weight to it, ‘He that teaches not his son a trade is as if he taught him to be a thief.’ It is also interesting to note that the men Jesus chooses to be his apostles, are mature men with a trade. He chooses men who earned their living!
We thus read, “As he walked along by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother casting a net into the – for they were fishermen. … As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, Jamesson of Zebedee and his brother John in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets.”
St. Paul, one of the greatest pillars of the Church, an apostle of Christ, although he too like the Lord would accept donations and help from the faithful, he is a man who earns his own living! Paul is a man with a trade. He is a tent maker. He toils and earns his living. He does not want to be a financial burden to the faithful.
And yet nobody matches Paul in preaching the Gospel and spreading it far and wide! He works like anybody else to earn his living and at the same time preaches! We thus read, “After this Paul left Athens and found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Pricilla, … Paul went to see them, and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they worked together – by trade they were tentmakers. Every Sabath he would argue in the synagogue and would try to convince Jews and Greeks”. (A/A 18 :1-4).
And I really admire the training the first missionaries to Uganda, the White Fathers, underwent. As a seminarian I had the privilege of working with the White Fathers at Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Nakulabye in Kampala, and I saw how pratical they were. We began that parish from scratch. We were celebrating Mass under a tree! The first Parish Priest a French man, Fr. François is the one who made the plan of that beautiful church which stands there now. He was later joined by a french-canadian Fr. Herve Grandmaison, he too had practical skills in building, carpentry and was a mechanic. They did a lot for the parish in building construction and yet these men like St. Paul, were equally totally dedicated to their pastoral ministry.
So according to the Practical Paradigm of priestly formation, those aspiring to the priesthood should have before their ordination to the priesthood a profession or a trade by which they can earn their own living. This has several advantages for both the candidate and the Christian community or the Church. For example, if a candidate after the many required years of philosophical and theological studies cannot make it to the priesthood, with such a profession or a trade, it is easier for him to resettle in ordinary life in society; a priest who has developed his potential to earn his living is pyschologically more mature and balanced than the one who has not; a priest can use his trade or profession to improved the living standards of the people entrusted to his care in his parish; a priest who earns his living from his sweat, can be a real model for our young people. Again according to this Practical Paradigm, a basic course in economics should be part of priestly formation.
In Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, I have observed that a number of religious congregations of Sisters and Brothers have already made big steps on the road to economic independence. They have put up economic projects like : schools, hospitals, retreat and spiritual centres, cattle and agricultural farms, rental houses, office buildings, small hydro-electric dams, retail and whole sale shops, etc. And they are managing them very well. Although some still get some financial help from abroad, one can see that their future is bright, that within the next few years they will be economically independent.
These religious congregations should act as a model for our dioceses and parishes. If every diocese and parish sets up some viable economic projects and manages them well, we should have no doubt that the Church in Africa will become economically independent within a very short time. We have very many lay Christians who are experts in commerce and economics and willing to help the Church. Let us use their talents and expertise, and we shall have no regrets! The Centenary Bank in Uganda, 39% owned by the Uganda Episcopal Conference and run with the expertise of lay Christians, is a great success story. As of December 2010, the Centenary Bank was the 4th largest commercial bank in Uganda! And one of the most imposing, most beautiful and most morden buildings in Kampala the capital city of Uganda, is the Centenary Bank headquaters on Kampala road.
With a Church leadership that is economically well informed, formed and trained, and with the expertise of our lay Christians, the Church in Africa is surely capable of becoming economically independent.
Dominic Vincent Nkoyoyo
Monastery Val Notre-Dame, Canada.
