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The mission of the church as family: implementing the ecclesiology of the African Synod (1994) in the Catholic Diocese of MasvingoBasera, Michael 02 1900 (has links)
Bibliography: leaves 221-244 / The purpose of this thesis is to examine the mission of the ‘Church as family’ and to explore
its implications in terms of levels of inclusion and participation of church members in the
Catholic Diocese of Masvingo. The background of the study is the 1994 African Synod that
suggests the ecclesiology of the mission of the ‘Church as family.’ The study helps the
Catholic Diocese of Masvingo to evaluate the implementation of the ideal of the mission of
the ‘Church as family’ and draw implications for nuclear, single parent, child-headed,
reconstituted and extended families within the church. The study explores Shorter’s culture
model to examine how cultural practices, symbols, values and belief systems can be used as
an analytic framework for the human dimension of the church. A qualitative research
methodology that involves 36 participants in semi-structured interviews, three focus group
discussions in urban, semi-urban and rural parishes and participant observation was used to
collect data from parishioners, priests and religious of the Catholic Diocese of Masvingo. The
study reveals that each family type contributes to Evangelisation as proclamation of the Good
News and inculturation differently thereby enriching the ideal of the mission of the ‘Church
as family.’ Furthermore, the study shows that guilds, associations and commissions help to
strengthen families through spiritual, psychological, social and economic support. Findings
also indicate that the Trinity is the theological foundation of the family and it finds
acceptance in African communal setup. Family types in Masvingo Diocese are analysed
using the notion of the Trinity to show that dignity, equality and respect among family types
can be used to strengthen the ideal of the mission of the ‘Church as family.’ At pastoral level,
economic, social and cultural obstacles to family ministry stand as a challenge to the full
implementation and realisation of the ideal of the mission of the ‘Church as family’. In the
light of the research, recommendations for mission strategies were suggested at different
levels that involve Diocesan administration, priests, religious, catechists and parish leaders.
Recommendations for further researches were also suggested for areas that seem to be
important yet outside the scope of this study. The theological, pastoral, and cultural issues
raised in this study combine to help the Catholic Diocese of Masvingo to become an
authentic expression of the mission of the ‘Church as family’ of God. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D. Th. (Missiology)
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"Shedding their blood as the seed of faith": the Zambesi Mission Jesuits and ambivalence about modernityBischoff, Richard Karl 12 1900 (has links)
The study addresses from a sociocultural-historical, in particular a missiological and
medical perspective the question if Catholic hospitals in Matabeleland, affected by the
dramatic down-turn of Zimbabwe’s economy since 2000, did whatever they could to
continue offering quality services to their patients.
It starts with a portrayal of the emergence of secular modernity in the North-Atlantic
World, as regards its view of the world as solely governed by natural laws, and of
people as capable of taking destiny into their own hands, unperturbed by spiritual
forces. The question is explored how the Christian Occident could end up there,
following its development through the Middle Ages, and its expansion by missionary
activity, by preaching the Word, but also by military force.
Next, the achievements of pre-1900 Western medicine are examined, to identify if/how
missionaries in Africa could have benefited. The study describes how professional
medicine did not become part of the early Zambesi Mission, not because of its curative
shortcomings, but for spiritual reasons, insofar as the Jesuits did not follow the
European trend to let worldly well-being take the place of eternal salvation. Vis-à-vis
their other-than-modern view of life, suffering, and (self-)sacrifice, the promises of
medicine appeared just trivial.
Submissiveness to authority, both ecclesiastical and worldly, is identified as the core
principle that informed the Jesuits’ educational approach towards Africans in all their
efforts at conversions. The missionaries thereby colluded with colonialist thinking, in not
attempting to make their pupils grow into self-confident, independent thinkers in their
own right. In this educational tradition, grafted onto a pre-modern local culture, the study
finds the reason why Zimbabwean medical staff, as managers of their clinics or
hospitals, have shown little readiness to proactively prioritise the intrinsic needs of their
institutions and push for corrective measures, prepared even to challenge their
superiors when encountering aberrations in the health system, locally as well as higher
up.
The study asks if the Church could have opted for a different educational approach,
considering the prevailing socio-economic and cultural framework conditions; finally, which options present-day Zimbabweans have to choose from, regarding their country’s
future development. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D. Th. (Missiology)
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