5 August 2010

press release

Here is a statement of the Catholic Bishops of Kenya on the results of the referendum on the Proposed Constitution released on August 5, 2010 at the Kenya Catholic Secretariat (KCS).

May God be with us.

Go, therefore to all nations......teach them to observe all I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age. Matthew 28: 19-20.

Our dear Christians, Our dear Kenyans and all people of good will.

We have travelled a long and arduous road that has seen us speak to you as your shepherds and direct your footsteps along the road of proper moral choice. We are convinced before God that we have played our role, as mandated to us, with diligence and respect. We have not shied away from stating unequivocally what are the tenets of our faith in regard to certain issues in our proposed constitution, "in season and out of season". God will be our judge!

We your Catholic Bishops have done our bit before the referendum to sensitise Kenyans about the danger of passing a constitution that does not respect our moral values.

Now Kenyans have voted after having heard what the various people had to tell them. We respect the outcome of the referendum, where the larger numbers of Kenyans have voted to accept this proposed constitution. However, truth and right are not about numbers. We therefore, as the shepherds placed to give moral guidance to our people, still reiterate the need to address the flawed moral issues in this proposed constitution. That voice should never be silenced.

We have urged the Kenyan people to pray for a good constitution, for a constitution that respects the right to life, safeguards religious freedom in its legitimate manifestations and upholds the family as the most important societal institution. We repeat this appeal to all the Kenyan people. Let us join together in prayer for a good constitution.

The Church desires and will remain at the forefront to support the constitution and legal reform process in this country. This reform process cannot end, must not end, since we all aspire to build a better society that will respect the rights of all and facilitate our economic, social and moral development. Most Kenyans indeed recognised that the proposed constitution we voted for or against on 4th August 2010 had errors that needed to be corrected. Our main difference was whether we believed the reform should take place before or after the vote.

We recognise and highly commend the peaceful way in which Kenyans have generally conducted themselves during the referendum voting process. We ask Kenyans to make even greater efforts now to uphold the need for peace, love and unity in our relations as brothers and sisters to all other Kenyans.

We shall be giving a more comprehensive statement in the next few days.

God bless our country

Signed by His Eminence John Cardinal Njue,

Chairman-Kenya Episcopal Conference (KEC), August 5, 2010