Uganda, Feb. 22 -- On February 14, 2024, while the rest of the world was celebrating Valentine's Day, a conference was being held at Hotel Protea in Kampala.

It was organised by Uganda Registration Service Bureau (URSB) with the aim of finding solutions to the marriage registration enigma in Uganda. Different stakeholders had been invited to give their contributions to the above challenge.

I was privileged to represent Fr. Dr. Pius Male Ssentumbwe - the chancellor of Kampala Archdiocese - plus the judiciary of Kampala Archdiocese. The deliberations from that conference have prompted me to write this article elucidating on the issue from the perspective of the Catholic Church.

According to the laws governing the Catholic Church (Cf. Can...