For The Dialog
BEAR – Cardinal John Njue traveled halfway around the world to remind more than 1,000 Kenyan Catholics from across the United States of their heritage of faith.
The cardinal, archbishop of Nairobi, Kenya, took the opportunity to try to deepen the faith of the Kenyans far from their African roots. It was sometimes a simple message during the Aug. 15 Mass, on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church.
Several times during the Mass, celebrated in the Swahili language, Cardinal Njue broke into an English-language mantra to which the Kenyan Catholics seemed well acquainted.
“God is good,” the cardinal bellowed; “All the time” the congregation replied in unison. The cardinal followed with “All the time,” to which the congregation responded, “God is good.”
Indicative of the appeal of a Mass in their native language, with a cardinal from their own country as celebrant, 21 Kenyans were baptized; two were confirmed; four marriages were blessed; and five received their First Communion.
The Mass included much dancing and singing. It started about 12:30 p.m. when several groups of dancers escorted Cardinal Njue and other clergy from the rectory on the edge of the parish campus past a statue of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and into the church.
The Offertory procession included dancers who carried household items to be used by poor families to the altar; some carried the items in baskets atop their heads. It ended with the cardinal again escorted by dancers out of the church about 4 p.m.
Among the Mass-goers was Robinson Njeru Githae, Kenya’s ambassador to the United States.
During a brief interview before Mass, Cardinal Njue said his visit provided an opportunity “to see Kenyans in diaspora, to encourage them in their faith.” He noted the heritage of faith left by the missionaries who converted many Kenyans to Christianity. “If you are left a heritage, you must protect it,” he said.
Cardinal Njue will participate in the three-week Synod of Bishops on the Family that begins at the Vatican on Oct. 4. He is considering a return visit to the Mid-Atlantic region next month for the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, which will include a visit by Pope Francis.
One of his major concerns about attending the World Meeting of Families is logistical: “If I come here [in September] I cannot go back to Nairobi [immediately] because on the fourth we begin the Synod on the Family,” meaning a more protracted absence from his archdiocese.
He hopes the synod will produce a plan that will protect the family. “There are so many attacks on the family,” he said, some of which are marketed “in such a way as to make them more appealing but it is nothing more than poison.”
“They are not good for the family but for their own good.”
He did not identify any specific group or cause.
During Mass, he punctuated his Swahili homily with English phrases that seemed to reinforce his overall message. He reminded those attending that humanity was created “to know God and love him and serve him, and then to be with him in eternity. … Do not forget your destiny, to live with God in eternity. … Do what is good; avoid what is evil.”
About a quarter of Kenya’s 38-million people are Catholic, part of the majority 83 percent that are Christian.
The Kenya Catholic Community of America, which sponsored its fourth annual Mass, has about 4,000 members nationwide, according to George Marucha of Jersey City, N.J., the KCCA chairman.
“It’s very exciting to have the cardinal here,” Marucha said. “This is all about strengthening our faith, our Catholic faith.”
Kevin Gatarabie of Philadelphia, who was born in Kenya, enjoyed having Mass in his native tongue but was even more honored by the presence of Cardinal Njue. “It is a blessing for him to come from Africa to be here,” he said.
Robert and Jedidah Mugo, parishioners at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, celebrated their 50th anniversary by being one of the couples whose marriages were blessed by Cardinal Njue.
“This was a miracle for me,” Jedidah Mugo said. “I never expected a cardinal to bless me, to bless our marriage.”
“I’m so happy. I can see God in my life.”
Many of their 12 grandchildren joined them on the altar for the blessing. The couple, who married in Kenya in 1965, have five children.
For Nick Njuguna, also of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, the day was doubly significant. He was confirmed by Cardinal Njue, and he also was an altar server, carrying the processional cross.
“It’s a day I’ll never forget,” Njuguna said. “You don’t meet a cardinal every day. He was the one who confirmed me. It was the best Mass I ever served – and also the longest,” he said. “I was moved.”
• • • • •
Cardinal Njue meets with bishop
By Joseph Ryan, Dialog Editor
During his four-day visit to Delaware, Cardinal John Njue of Nairobi, Kenya, met with Bishop Malooly on Aug. 18 at the diocesan chancery building in Wilmington.
The cardinal, who had celebrated two Masses at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Bear, was accompanied by Kenyan priests and also by Seton’s pastor, Father Roger F. DiBuo.
Bishop Malooly told Cardinal Njue that his visit was “good for our people” of the diocese, especially those from Kenya and Africa, “to have their leader come and be part of their activities. So I’m delighted.”
In October, Cardinal Njue will participate at the Synod of Bishops on family at the Vatican. He told The Dialog that the bishops “have a responsibility as a church” to address problems facing families “in realistic ways.” Rather than look for a “shortcut” in marriage laws, “it’s better to go the long way that will make you reach where you are supposed to reach,” the cardinal said.
“I think we have to realize there is civil marriage and there is ecclesiastical [church] marriage.”
When problems arise, Cardinal Njue said, the question becomes “can our canonical process be utilized properly and as fast as possible. The problem is sometimes it takes a long time. “On the other hand, to say, ‘let them go to the sacraments now,’ I think sends a very dangerous message.”
Cardinal Njue said he hopes the synod will face family problems the way they are, “and come out with a concrete solution.”
As archbishop of Nairobi, Cardinal Njue saw the deadly results of a terrorist attack at a shopping mall in the city in 2013. Kenya also experienced a deadly attack by members of a Muslim group, al Shabab, at a college recently. While the terrorists claim Muslim identity, Cardinal Njue sees their efforts as separate from Islam.
“I insist,” the cardinal said, “it is not directly a confrontation between Islam and the Christian church. We have a good relationship with our colleagues in the Muslim area.”
He said what Al Shabab is doing in various attacks “is not fundamentally based on religion. It’s political. It’s more on the political line than the religious.”
The cardinal called on the Kenyan government to improve security.
“We cannot keep quiet,” Cardinal Njue said, because at the end of the day it is the people, some of the Kenyans who are going to suffer.”
