Robert Kyagulanyi, commonly known as Bobi Wine, has expressed his disappointment with the Catholic Church’s teachings on forgiveness, stating that turning the other cheek when wronged is not the solution, and instead vowed to always seek revenge.
According to Kyagulanyi, the Catholic Church’s teachings on forgiveness—such as turning the other cheek when wronged—are unfair, asserting that it should be an “eye for an eye,” as said to be practiced in Islam .
Kyagulanyi made these remarks while attending a burial ceremony of his grandmother, Hajat Aidah Kyosimb’onaanya Goloosa Matanga-Masaka, on December 27, 2024, at Butenga, Kawoko-Bukomansimbi.
He criticized the Catholic Church for its stance on forgiveness and turning the other way when wronged. He urged that justice should be served there and then in equal measures.
“I am a practicing Catholic, as you all know, but I don’t agree with what the church teaches about forgiveness; the issue of turning the other cheek when one has been hit does not sit well with me; this totally fails to adequately address the principle of “an eye for an eye.” Kyagulanyi said.
He went ahead to say that he likes what his brother Jamilu Kyagulanyi, commonly known to many as Jamilu Mukulu, did, and an eye for an eye.
“Though many have accused him of wrongdoing, I believe that is the way to treat people who do wrong against you. I support my brother Jamilu, and when I say these people think i am mad , no way I just want justice of an eye for an eye, like we do it with our Muslim brothers,” Kyagulanyi added.
Jamilu Mukulu (born David Steven) is a Ugandan militant leader and suspected war criminal who was the principal founder and former leader of the Allied Democratic Forces, an armed Islamist rebel group in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Kyagulanyi emphasized that the Church’s teachings should reflect the realities of justice and accountability by allowing people to exercise an eye for an eye so that some people do not take advantage of the weak teachings to get away with hurting others.
The Catholic teachings about forgiveness and “an eye for an eye”: Catholics believe that forgiveness is rooted in mercy, which breaks the cycle of vengeance and retaliation. Catholics also believe that mercy and justice are linked and that forgiveness allows people to pursue justice without falling into revenge.
The church’s doctrine “An eye for an eye” is viewed as judicial policy, not a rule for interpersonal relationships. They believe that courts should use “an eye for an eye” to direct punishment to fit the crime, rather than to encourage people to take revenge.
