Uganda Bishop Warns Newly Ordained Priests Against Digital Distractions

In the Diocese of Kasese, Uganda, Bishop Francis Aquirinus Kibira Kambale presided over an ordination Mass that brought five new priests and three new deacons into the Church. The moment was one of celebration and commitment, but the bishop used his homily to sound a warning that would echo beyond the sanctuary: the digital world is pulling people—including priests themselves—away from the spiritual work they have been called to do.

Bishop Kibira acknowledged that technology has genuine value. But he had watched something troubling unfold in his diocese and beyond. Social media, he said, was consuming time that ought to be spent deepening one's relationship with God or attending to pastoral duties. The concern was not abstract. He had seen phones in the hands of worshippers during the Eucharist itself—a moment meant to be sacred and undivided. He condemned the practice directly and called on both lay Christians and priests to step back from the grip of their devices, to do what was right at the moment it needed doing, rather than letting screens dictate their attention.

For the newly ordained priests especially, Bishop Kibira added a specific caution: the growing reliance on artificial intelligence. He urged them to remain steadfast in their vocation, to keep their focus on Jesus Christ, who had called them into this life. He asked them to commit themselves to daily private Mass—a practice he framed not as obligation but as the means to strengthen their personal bond with Christ. The lay faithful, too, received a call: to pray together in their families and communities, to stay united in faith.

The bishop also took the occasion to address a misconception about priesthood itself. Parents and guardians, he warned, should not push their children toward ordination as though it were a career path or family legacy. Priesthood, he insisted, is a calling that emerges from God and grows naturally in a child when faith and vocation are properly nurtured. It cannot be forced.

The five men ordained to priesthood that day were Robert Bwambale Mathande from Kasanga Parish, Russiano Mbusa Kyangereza from Kyalhumba Parish, Gidio Bwambale, a missionary priest from Nsenyi Parish, Lodrick Asaba from Ibanda Parish, and David Bwambale from Kitabu Parish. Three seminarians—Daniel Kule, Thembo Sikahwa Jockim, and Ndungu Isaac—were ordained deacons, stepping onto the path toward priesthood themselves.

On behalf of the newly ordained, Father Robert Mathande asked the Christian community to welcome these men warmly and to work alongside them in building up the Church. It was an invitation to partnership, a recognition that priesthood does not exist in isolation but in relationship with the people it serves. The message was clear: these men were not stepping into a role defined by their phones or their access to technology, but into a vocation defined by presence, by prayer, and by commitment to those around them.