In his Roving Eye column for the Sunday Monitor of Kampala, Kevin O’Connor writes about an advertising supplement celebrating the fifth anniversary of the primacy of Archbishop Henry Orombi of Uganda. He estimates the cost of the supplement at $6,500:
His Grace, the right Rev Henry Luke Orombi, 7th Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, is no doubt a most impressive human being with many achievements.
But the four-page supplement, which appeared in the Sunday Vision of March 8 2009, showed much that is wrong with the reality of Christian values in Uganda and with Africa’s “big man” culture in general.
The supplement celebrated Orombi’s fifth anniversary as Archbishop. Five is hardly a big number, so the first question is; why celebrate this fifth anniversary at all, except in a modest, private way?
and
In a mere four pages, the supplement contained 10 photographs of Orombi. ….
But the bigger questions, and much more worrying issues for Christians, surround the huge cost of the supplement, and the better ways such money could have been used.
The supplement can be found here and here, and should be read to be appreciated:
He is phenomenal, vibrant and motivated. He is unforgettably humorous with a distinguished personality. His eloquence is his distinction that whoever hears him minister cannot easily forget his powerful sermons. He is confident and does not compromise his integrity.
Orombi, who frequently preaches on the decadence of the West, has forbidden bishops in Uganda to accept donations from churches that support same-sex relationships, thus depriving those dioceses of much needed funds. And not everyone in Uganda is on the gay-bashing bandwagon.