The socio-economic and political crisis in Zimbabwe is breeding poverty which forces children to drop out of school and find a way to survive. Children in Zimbabwe no longer work for extra income to spend with peers or to pay for school fees, but they work for their survival. Therefore this is a study on child labour. Zimbabwe is signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child however, all these laws are not helping to mitigate against child labour. Despite the existence of child labour in Zimbabwe there has been little theological response. The current theological debates have overlooked the suffering of children through child labour. This argument refers to both academic and church theology. The basic theological argument in this study is that in order to protect children from child labour there is need to construct a liberative theology of children which focuses on; dignity, identity, love, justice and freedom. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Zürich, 2003/04. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 335-342) and index.

Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo entendermos os processos históricos e geográficos pelo qual a dimensão espacial da Igreja Católica no atual município de Nova Iguaçu, na Baixada Fluminense, foi estruturada, assim como interpretar as ações desenvolvidas pela Igreja Católica mostrando o seu papel de gestor no desenvolvimento de várias ações sociais e religiosas. Nesta localidade, carente de políticas públicas favoreceu inicialmente nas comunidades eclesiais de base a construção de importantes espaços religiosos, assim como, posteriormente foram desenvolvidos movimentos populares que auxiliaram na sociabilidade e trocas de saberes e fazeres. As ações conduzidas pela Teologia da Libertação e dirigidas pela Diocese de Nova Iguaçu e pelo líder religioso Dom Adriano Hypólito possibilitou a expansão da conscientização da população em relação a seus direitos e deveres expressos principalmente nas inúmeras reivindicações por serviços públicos e sociais. Busca-se então, o entendimento na estruturação social de algumas áreas da Baixada Fluminense assim como desvendar as estratégias utilizadas pela Diocese de Nova Iguaçu durante a fim de promover a organização de seu território religioso, através da disseminação de suas estratégias religiosas. Tais ações auxiliaram no fortalecimento das ações coletivas da localidade, marcando a história do município de Nova Iguaçu e da instituição religiosa católica brasileira. / This research aims to understand the historical and geographical processes by which the spatial dimension of the Catholic Church in the current municipality of Nova Iguaçu, in the Baixada Fluminense, was structured as well as interpret the actions taken by the Catholic Church showing her managerial role in the development various social activities and religious.In this location, lacking in public policies initially favored in basic ecclesial communities to build important religious spaces, and subsequently were developed popular movements that helped in sociability and exchange of knowledge and practices. The actions carried out by the Liberation Theology and directed by the Diocese of Nova Iguaçu and the religious leader Don Adriano Hypólito enabled the expansion of public awareness regarding their rights and duties mainly expressed in the numerous claims for public and social services. The aim is then to understand the social structure of some areas of the Lowlands as well as uncover the strategies used by the Diocese of Nova Iguaçu in order to promote religious organization of its territory, through the dissemination of religious strategies. Such actions helped in strengthening the collective actions of the town, marking the history of the municipality of Nova Iguaçu and the Brazilian Catholic religious institution.

[pt] O presente estudo discute um problema teológico: Deus é ou não é silencioso? Depois da encarnação em Jesus Cristo, não se pode mais julgar Deus de omisso ou silencioso. Na segunda pessoa da Trindade, Ele se revela solidário ao homem, caminha junto, sofre junto, é presente na sua forma kenótica. Isso nos é revelado por Jesus em sua vida e missão. A pesquisa chega assim a primeira questão: o que aconteceu com o humano que se distanciou deste ponto de referência? Jesus, Deus encarnado, traz a esperança que nos afirma que hoje, como sempre, ainda se pode crer que a paz e o bem são possíveis porque o mal não é mais forte que o bem. Ainda é possível falar de um Deus que se faz cercar e preceder da presença da paz e da justiça e cujo outro nome é Amor. O Crucificado não é a sacralização do absurdo do mal e da violência, mas a mais completa expressão da definição joanina: Deus é amor! E por isso a fonte de toda esperança. Mas se Deus é amor, perguntar-se pelo silencio de Deus é inerente ao homem que olha ao seu redor. Questiona-se sobre o mal, pergunta-se pela finitude não aceita, pela morte indesejada e, apesar disso, acontecida, pelo absurdo da morte do inocente, do sofrimento do justo, dos acidentes inexplicáveis, das doenças degenerativas, das violências vivenciadas em cada dia... O presente trabalho fundamentará seu estudo e buscará algumas respostas na obra O Deus Crucificado de J. Moltmann e no livro Jesus libertador de Jon Sobrino. / [en] This study discusses a theological problem: Is GOD silent or not? After the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, we can no longer judge GOD absent or silent. In the second person of the Trinity, He reveals himself with solidarity to men, walks alongside them, suffers with them, and is present in his kenotic form. This is revealed to us by Jesus Christ in his life and mission. This research brings to life the first question: What happens with the person who distances himself from this reference point? Jesus, GOD reincarnated, brings hope that tell us that today, as always, we can still believe that the peace and goodness are possible because evil is not stronger than good. It is still possible to speak of a GOD that it is surrounded and preceded by the presence of peace and justice and whose other name is LOVE. The crucified is not the sacralisation of the absurdity of evil and violence, but the most complete expression of the John definition: GOD IS LOVE! And so the source of all hope. But if GOD is love, to question Jesus Christ silence, is inherent to the men looking around themselves. Questions about evil, the end not welcomed, the unwanted death, and nevertheless, taking place, the absurd death of the innocent, the suffering of the just, the inexplicable accidents, the degenerative diseases, violence experienced every day… This work reasons for the study and will seek for some answers in the works of The Crucified God by J. Moltmann and Christ, the Liberator by Jon Sobrino.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is a crisis for the South African government, society and Church. About sixty percent of the HIV population are in Sub Saharan Africa with women being three times more likely to be infected with HIV than their male counterparts. Governmental, societal and Church responses seem to have had little effect in reducing the pandemic as can be seen from the rising prevalence rates. Responses to the HIV/AIDS pandemic lack a gender focus. Some churches have not responded to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Other Church-based responses have been isolated and simplistic in that they have concentrated on one aspect of the HIV illness. The HIV/AIDS pandemic is a growing crisis to which the Church should respond. The hermeneutical point of departure in this thesis is to express a preferential option for the poor by standing in solidarity with a group of women living on the margins of society. To this end the perspectives of black people, who are materially poor, HIV positive and part of support groups are articulated in the study. The research project suggests that the preferential option for the poor has the potential to contribute to the personal and social transformation of society. Focussing on the deep-seated longing many desire for fullness of life, this thesis explores and describes a gendered Christian response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic that could contribute to the full humanity of people. Full humanity is understood as transformation to wholeness and incorporates unity with God, others, creation and within oneself. A multifaceted, integrated and gendered response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic is suggested by way of a model of full humanity. The South African context of HIV/AIDS, patriarchy and poverty pose a challenge to the way that Christians develop their spirituality. This thesis aims to explore and describe aspects of a fully human spirituality emerging from the South African situation. The study suggests that a clearly integrative and holistic approach that embodies the gender perspective is necessary for churches to adopt in responding to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D.Th.(Christian Spirituality)

no abstract available / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M.Th.(Systematic Theology)

« Entre mon marxisme et mon décadentisme, il manquait la médiation d’un troisième terme qui est justement le christianisme ». Ainsi s’exprime Pasolini en 1964. Cette thèse propose de réexaminer La ricotta à partir d’une notion théologique : la réserve eschatologique élaborée par Jean-Baptiste Metz en dialogue avec les théologiens de la libération. A cette lumière, l’examen du procès de La ricotta et de son conflit central autour du rire, du sacré et du blasphème, offre la possibilité d’appréhender à nouveaux frais la portée politique des choix esthétiques de Pasolini puis de restaurer la trame historique sur laquelle se détache son œuvre. La ricotta répondait à une commande de film sur la fin du monde. L’approche par l’eschatologie éclaire la réponse pasolinienne : son récit de Passion lui permet de se positionner comme marxiste athée, à l’intérieur d’une culture chrétienne assumée et revivifiée. Enfin, la réserve eschatologique qui travaille l’esthétique du peuple dans La ricotta, notamment dans letraitement des voix, ouvre le pastiche pasolinien au temps des figurants. / “Somewhere between my Marxism and my Decadentism, a third term was missing which is, in fact, Christianity”, dixit Pasolini in 1964. This thesis will re-examine La ricotta, through a theological prism : using the Eschatological Reservations developed by Johann Baptist Metz in tandem with the Liberation Theologists. In the light of this concept, the study of the trial of La ricotta and its central tension built around the comic, the sacred and the blasphemous, will allow us to consider the political weight of Pasolini’s aesthetic choices and to reconstruct the historic background of his work. La ricotta was commissioned as a film about the end of the world. One may shed new light on Pasolini’s creation by using eschatological theory. Through his interpretation of the Passion of Christ, he appears as a Marxist atheist within his asserted and revitalized Christian culture. To conclude, the Eschatological Reservations influence Pasolini’s aesthetic interpretation of the poor and their voices in Laricotta, and herald a new era, the Age of the Extras.

ALBUQUERQUE,Ronald de Figueiredo e. A igreja católica no processo de formação da classe trabalhadora. 2012. 263f. Tese (Doutorado)- Universidade Federal do Ceará, Faculdade de Educação, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação Brasileira, Fortaleza(CE),2012. / Submitted by Maria Josineide Góis (josineide@ufc.br) on 2012-10-16T16:52:49Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2012_Tese_RFeAlbuquerque.pdf: 1115352 bytes, checksum: d07cbf274332743c617f181677aa9c8c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Josineide Góis(josineide@ufc.br) on 2012-10-17T14:29:00Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2012_Tese_RFeAlbuquerque.pdf: 1115352 bytes, checksum: d07cbf274332743c617f181677aa9c8c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2012-10-17T14:29:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2012_Tese_RFeAlbuquerque.pdf: 1115352 bytes, checksum: d07cbf274332743c617f181677aa9c8c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / The present work describes the process by which the Catholic Church turns its attention to society and commits itself to the poorest. This commitment helped organize the popular segments, while at the same time, it allowed a reflection on the action of the Catholic Church itself. This reflection has changed the political praxis of religious and lay people who came to see the Church as a privileged instrument of social and political change, since it is an institution present in every corner shaping the population in general. I stress also, the role of popular segments, which not only suffer the action of the Church, but exert back on it a critical role, capable of influencing sectors of the Catholic Church, causing them to review positions and define actions more relevant to the reality of the popular segments. In this work, I analyze the trajectory of the Catholic Church in Brazil, when, gradually, some segments of its hierarchy take part in the struggles of the people, revealing the processes of domination and submission in place, forcing an official position of the Church that ultimately impacts Vatican II. Afterwards, the Church, historically, becomes committed to the poor--it is the Church of the poor, as well defines the liberation theology. This commitment leads to the organization of the Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs). These communities become more expressive politically, primarily, from the years of military dictatorship. This peculiarity makes some scholars believe that the political presence of the CEBs is a consequence of the closure of formal political spaces such as unions and political parties. The thesis that I defend, based on studies of the Diocese of Crateús, is that the BECs are meeting spaces that are transformed into spaces of social and political activities that the Church has taken control of since the 1950s. Crateús is a clear demonstration that communities are gathering spaces and, therefore, political spaces of active and critical speech in a church that stands open to talking to the people, encouraging them to participate in the actions defined in the communities. BECs are, as a result, spaces of political education that still reverberate in the action of popular strata. The methodology used was based on direct contact with the workers who participated in BECs with the 9 Church, priests, nuns, pastoral workers, union members and coordinators, through individual and group interviews, analysis of documents and books, participation in meetings and visits to some institutions created through the action of BEC members. / O presente trabalho expõe o processo pelo qual passou a Igreja Católica ao voltar-se para a sociedade e nela comprometer-se com os mais pobres. Sua inserção entre os segmentos populares propiciou a organização desses, ao mesmo tempo, que permitiu refletir sobre a ação da Igreja Católica. Essa reflexão mudou a práxis política de religiosos e leigos que passaram a ver a Igreja como instrumento privilegiado de mudança social e política, já que ela é uma instituição presente em todos os recantos conformando a população de modo geral. Relevo também, o papel dos segmentos populares, que não apenas sofrem a ação da Igreja, mas que exercem sobre ela um papel crítico, capaz de contaminar setores da Igreja Católica, fazendo-os rever posições e definir ações mais pertinentes com a realidade dos segmentos populares. Nesse trabalho, analiso do percurso da igreja Católica no Brasil, quando, paulatinamente, alguns segmentos de sua hierarquia vão se inserindo nas lutas do povo, revelando os processos de dominação e submissão em vigor, forçando uma tomada de posição da Igreja que acaba por repercutir no Vaticano II. A partir dele abre a Igreja para sua inserção histórica comprometida com os pobres, é a Igreja dos pobres como bem define a Teologia da Libertação e que se faz presente na organização das Comunidades Eclesiais de Base. Friso que as comunidades se colocam de forma mais expressiva e política principalmente, a partir, dos anos da ditadura militar. Essa peculiaridade faz com que alguns intelectuais acreditem que a presença política das comunidades é uma consequência do fechamento dos espaços políticos formais, sindicatos e partidos políticos. A tese que defendo, a partir da Diocese de Crateús, é que são espaços de encontro, e por serem espaços de encontro se transformam em espaços de inserção social e política que a Igreja vem assumindo desde os anos de 1950. Crateús é uma demonstração clara de que as comunidades são espaço de encontro e, por isso mesmo, políticos, espaços da fala ativa e crítica em função de uma Igreja que se coloca aberta à fala do povo, estimulando-o à participação nas ações definidas nas Comunidades. São as 7 CEBs, em função disso, espaços de educação política que ainda hoje repercute na ação dos segmentos populares. A metodologia utilizada foi o contato direto com os trabalhadores, que participaram de CEBs, com a Igreja, padres, religiosas, agentes de pastoral, coordenadores e sindicalistas, através de entrevistas individuais e coletivas, da análise de documentos escritos e livros, da participação em reuniões e visitas a algumas instituições criadas a partir da ação dos membros das CEBs.

No abstract available / Systematic Theology / D. Th. (Systematic Theology)

The exodus tradition was passed on for posterity among the Jewish descendants about God who delivered their ancestors from bondage in Egypt, who divided the Red Sea waters and provided them with manna in the desert. The exodus tradition motivated them in many problematic situations about "God of their fathers" who delivered them. The modern post-biblical world has drawn some motivation from the exodus liberation motif, namely: Latin America, USA, South Africa, Rhodesia and Zimbabwe, amongst others. The topic: Reading the Exodus Tradition from a Zimbabwean Perspective is necessitated by the Zimbabwean experience of oppression. The function of the exodus tradition during colonialism in Rhodesia is discussed because it forms the nucleus from which Zimbabwe was born. Recently, the Zimbabwean people have been subjected to unjust treatments by the Zimbabwean regime. The function of the exodus tradition in the Zimbabwean situation is explored in chapters five and six, respectively. / Biblical and Ancient studies / M.A. (Biblical Studies)