As Pope Francis makes an apology over clerical sex abuse and cover-up by bishops, concerns were emerging over children allegedly sired by priests in Africa.
In the past, the bishops have come down hard on Catholic priests who have broken the celibacy vow, to sire children or marry in secret. In other cases, some of the allegations have ended up in secular courts.
But in Kenya, with cases of children, mothers and families accusing priests of fathering and abandoning children being increasingly reported, an International Catholic organisation, who do not want to be named, has contracted a private DNA agency to carry out tests, the Daily Nation, one of Kenya’s leading daily newspapers has reported.
According to the report, the agency, known as DNA Testing Services, on Saturday (August 25) send out a requests to mothers who suspect that Catholic priests were the biological fathers of their children to take DNA tests.
The tests will carried out in the next 30 days, Kinyanjui Murigi, the director of the DNA Testing Services was quoted as saying. The results will remain confidential and findings will be handed to the Church and Vatican, which will decide what action to take.
According to a source familiar with the issue in the church who did not want to be named, the idea emerged around 2010 when a group of women started pushing to be recognised as “wives of priest”
“There was a feeling among the women that they had been abused and abandoned. They wanted to force the priests to come out of the church and officially marry them,” said the source. “I think it is a big issue, but the church may want to bury its head in the sand.”
In one case reported by the media, a priest in Maua Meru diocese, Eastern Kenya has been accused of being the biological father of one of two cousins who were murdered after a car hijacking incident in Ruai, near Nairobi. The family of one them - a young man of 22 years old named Amos - had been trying to compel a priest to own up to being the father of the man. The death of his mother - before the death of Amos - under mysterious circumstances has complicated the search.
The priest had been paying for Amos’ studies and had even bought him the car that he died in.
The priest had reportedly denied the allegations that he was the boy's father, saying he helped Amos because he was poor.
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