Missiology is about God's call and his sending forth of people to do his will. His call is always linked to his purpose. Thus, the primary purpose of God is salvation. And his salvation is all embracing. Similarly, the Church is the sacrament of salvation and is mandated to proclaim faith and salvation to all. Hence, the mission of God (missio Dei) takes place in the Church, and is implanted by the Church in the world (missiones Ecclesiae). The mission which Jesus gives to the Church is made possible by his own mission (missio Christi), and thus has its foundation in God. The history of the Catholic Diocese of Bethlehem begins with the German Missionaries of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans). Importantly, for the Spiritans, the growth of the diocese depended upon the training of the lay people to teach catechism, to lead Priestless Sunday services and gradually by the training of the local clergy as well. The present situation in the Catholic Diocese of Bethlehem is the seemingly shallow understanding of faith and mission, and also the dwindling number of Catholics. This is clearly evident in the number of baptisms in the baptismal register and the head counts on Sundays. Nevertheless, the diocese is still called to preach the Good News to the poor and the oppressed. This thesis assesses the efforts of the pioneers (German Missionaries) as well as the current situation in the Catholic Diocese of Bethlehem, and recommends a paradigm shift for the future. / PhD (Missiology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

In unpacking the concept of teaching as a vocation in Chrisrian tradition, the research aims to articulate the essential interconnectedness between four elements: * Christ as the foundation of Christian vocation - biblical perspectives, focusing particularly on the concepts of discipleship, emulation and charism * The way in which that vocation has developed within Christian tradition - historical perspectives focusing on two Religious Orders, the Salesians of Don Bosco and the Sisters of Mercy. * Current conversations in the academy concerning teaching as a vocation - contemporary perspectives including the notion of spiritual capital, the sacramental perspective, a renewed focus on interiority, vocation as a convergence between self and service and current challenges to the concept of teaching as a vocation. * Vocation demonstrated in the perceptions and motivations of practitioners - quantitative and qualitative research. The former involved in-depth interviews with twelve practitioners encompassing a wide range of ages and stages of career progression. The interviews were patterned in three stages: personal religious commitment. Quantitative research was introduced in an attempt to corroborate the findings emergent from both the critical retireval of literature and the in-depth interviews. The research findings were then analysed in the light of the literature review and this was followed by a chapter in which conclusions were reached, structured around the principal elements of both the literature review and the empirical research. Based on these conclusions, a series of recommendations are put forward, focusing primarily on the maintenance of formation programmes both at Diocesan and Relitious Order level, the challenge to address the complementary aspects of Chrsitain vocation such as family commitments in the context of teaching, then explore futher what might be meant by 'integrity of life'. The thesis concludes strongly that the notion of commitment permeates the empirical evidence to the extent that it echoes that of the first disciples of Jesus and the pioneers within Religious Orders who constituted "an example of the unreserved and gratuitous "gift" of self to the service of others in the spirit of their religious consecration." (Congregation for Catholic Education: 1997).

This research has been conducted against the backdrop of the Second Vatican Council's "People of God" motif. The term "ecclesial" in the title embraces both lay faithful and clergy, although the lens through which their views are gauged is that of the deacon. The empirical findings of the research have been derived from fifty-three deacons of Southwark Province who completed narrative questionnaires about their collective six hundred years of experience in ordained ministry. The research methodology was mainly qualitative, using an adapted grounded theory approach to explore the themes which emerged from the respondents' own testimonies. These included discernment of their vocations, their formation programmes, what helped or hindered them in their early days of ministry and how they were received by their parish priests and their communities. As a theological consideration of the permanent diaconate, the project points to : * a richer scriptural interpretation of diakonia than a simplistic reading of Acts 6 * an understanding of the episcopate as the "fullness of order" from which are extended the two "arms" of the bishop's pastoral oversight - diaconate and presbyterate * a praxis which reflects the diaconate as a unique and full order The chief findings of the research are as follows: * Whilst formation for deacons has become theologically more robust over the past decade, there remain gaps in ongoing formation, both theologically and pastorally and an underdeveloped structure for the deacon to be properly supervised in his ministry. * The pastoral role of the deacon's wife remains unclear. Although, in the main, she is an animator of her husband's witness and compensates for his lack of time with the family, there is little evidence that the concept of "diaconal marriage", as a basis for joint ministry, is devloping. * The discipline of celibacy for widower deacons reflects a limited and sacerdotal understanding of what it means to be a sacred minister in Holy Orders. Although dispensations for remarriage are possible, these exceptional concessions may restrict the theological unfolding of the concept of diaconal marriage. * The continued exclusion of women from ordained ministry remains problematical for some. However, Pope Benedict's recent moto proprio "Omnium in Mentem" may signal future opportunities for a more diverse ordained diaconal ministry.

Approximately one in two parents across the province of Ontario, regardless of personal religious beliefs, now choose to enrol their children in a public Roman Catholic secondary school over the public secular school counterpart. The Ontario Roman Catholic school system has historically struggled for recognition and independence as an equally legitimate system in the province. Students in modern schools regard religion and spirituality as critical aspects to their individual identities, yet this study investigates the language and knowledge delivered within the systemic marginalization and colonial framework of a Euro-centric school system and the level of inclusivity and acceptance it affords its youth. Using a critical ethnographic methodology within a single revelatory case study, this study presents the voices of youth as the most critical voice to be heard on identity and identity in faith in Ontario Roman Catholic schools. Surveys with students and student families are complemented with in-depth student interviews, triangulated with informal educational staff interviews and the limited literature incorporating youth identity in modern Ontario Roman Catholic schools. Through the approach of an anti-colonial discursive framework, incorporating a theology of liberation that emphasizes freedom from oppression, the voice of Roman Catholic secondary school youth are brought forth as revealing their struggle for identity in a system that intentionally hides identity outside of being Roman Catholic. Broader questions discussed include: (a) What is the link between identity, schooling and knowledge production?; (b) How do the different voices of students of multi-faiths, educators, administrators, and so forth, contradict, converge and diverge from each other?; (c) How are we to understand the role and importance of spirituality in schooling, knowledge production, and claims of Indigenity and resistance to colonizing education?; (d) What does it mean to claim spirituality as a valid way of knowing?; (e) In what way does this study help understand claims that spirituality avoids splitting of the self?; (f) How do we address the fact that our cultures today are threatened by the absence of community?; and (g) What are the pedagogic and instructional relevancies of this work for the classroom teacher?

The problem of this study was to determine the adequacy of the professional preparation of the Catholic school superintendent for his role as the educational leader in the diocesan school system. The study was divided into the following subdivisions: 1) establishing evaluative criteria to measure the adequacy of the professional preparation of the Catholic school superintendent; 2) evaluating the professional preparation of the superintendent in the light of the established criteria; 3) proposing a program which might close the gap between the existing practices and the established criteria.

The musical and spiritual life of Mary Lou Williams (1910 - 1981) came together in her later years in the writing of Mary Lou's Mass. Being both Roman Catholic and a jazz pianist and composer, it was inevitable that Williams would be the first jazz composer to write a setting of the mass. The degree of success resulting from the combination of jazz and the traditional forms of Western art music has always been controversial. Because of Williams's personal faith and aesthetics of music, however, she had little choice but to attempt the union of jazz and liturgical worship. After a biography of Williams, discussed in the context of her musical aesthetics, this thesis investigates the elements of conventional mass settings and oral tradition found in Mary Lou's Mass.

Thesis advisor: Thomas E. Wangler / The story of the transformation of St. Benedict Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, originally a small Catholic student center, into a controversial and socially disruptive religious community is little known today even by most Bostonians. Some sixty-five years ago, however, the Center's public activities under the leadership of its chaplain, Leonard Feeney, S.J., were the focus of intense controversy and publicity, nationally and internationally as well as locally. In the 1940s, there was no clear theological consensus on the possibility of salvation for non-Catholics. Although there seems to have been a notable hesitation on the part of theologians and hierarchy alike in Boston to issue an official pronouncement on the Church's theology of salvation, there was at the same time an unhesitating consensus among them that Fr. Feeney's rigorist interpretation of the Catholic doctrine extra ecclesiam nulla salus ("no salvation outside the Church") was not that of the Church in the modern age. Complex social and cultural factors were at play in the controversy. Ultimately, though, any historian attempting to make sense of the ideas and actions of Fr. Feeney and the members of the Center is confronted with the fact that they took theology seriously, and so also must the historian who hopes to understand them. My thesis in this dissertation is that a uniquely explosive combination of theological developments, social flux, and intersecting personalities led to the eruptions at St. Benedict Center. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

Estuda-se a formação do clero católico considerando valores de futuros sacerdotes. Os valores são analisados levando-se em conta seus elementos de amplitude, exigência e escolha. Emprega-se a distinção de Rokeach entre valores terminais e instrumentais. As transformações sociais atribuídas à pós-modernidade são consideradas à luz das teorias propostas por Jean-François Lyotard e Anthony Giddens (modernidade tardia). Os sujeitos são cinco seminaristas, concluintes do curso de Teologia e próximos da ordenação sacerdotal. Utiliza-se entrevista semi-estruturada composta de sete itens (Igreja universal- Igreja local;ecumenismo-diálogo interreligioso; verdade; missão; mulher; pessoa do sacerdote; meios de comunicação) referentes a três temas da pós-modernidade(metanarrativa; subjetividade; simulação-realidade virtual). Constata-se que os valores terminais permanecem os mesmos, ao passo que os instrumentais alteram-se, o que permite aos sujeitos manter sua adesão aos primeiros. Os resultados apontam o modelo de Giddens (modernidade tardia) como mais adequado à compreensão das transformações socioculturais do fim do milênio do que aquele sugerido por Lyotard. / This work studies the education of the Catholic clergy considering values of future priests. The values are analyzed taking their elements of amplitude; requiredness and choice. Rokeach's distinction is used between terminal and instrumental values. The social changes attributed to the postmodernity are considered according to the theories proposed by Jean-François Lyotard and Anthony Giddens (late modernity). The subjects are five seminarians of the course of Theology and next to the priestly ordination. It is used semi-structured interviews composed of seven items (universal Church/local Church; ecumenism/interfaith dialogue; truth; mission; woman; person of the priest; media) referring to the three themes of postmodernity (metanarrative, subjectivity; simulation-virtual reality). It is evidenced that the terminal values remain the same, while the instrumental ones change. It allows the subjects to keep their adhesion to terminal values. The results point to the model of Giddens (late modernity) as more adjusted to the understanding of the sociocultural changes of the end of the millennium than the one suggested by Lyotard.

Les missionnaires catholiques arrivent au Rwanda en 1900. En collaboration avec le pouvoir colonial, ils entreprirent des transformations économiques, sociales, politiques et culturelles. Le rôle de l'Église était l'évangélisation, elle avait aussi en charge l'instruction de la société rwandaise. Au fur et à mesure que les années avançaient, les rwandais étaient initiés à la culture de récrit aux dépens de l'oralité. Très vite le besoin de vouloir entretenir les néophytes dans la foi chrétienne et surtout prolonger la formation dispensée au rabais dans les catéchuménats, ils décident de mettre en place une presse catholique en fondant une série de journaux publiés dans la langue vernaculaire et en français. En plus des enseignements religieux, les articles publiés abordaient les problèmes sociaux, politiques. A titre d'exemple grâce au premier journal "Kinyamateka", les autorités tant de l'administration coloniale qu'autochtones faisaient parvenir leurs directives à la population. La ligne éditoriale a subi des modifications s'intéressant davantage aux problèmes sociaux et politiques du pays sans laisser de côté les aspects de la vie chrétienne. Cette presse a contribué grandement dans la conscientisation des lecteurs face aux courants politiques déclenchés à la veille de l'accession à l'indépendance. Pendant une trentaine d'années (1931-1961) elle est parvenue à jouer son rôle de former, d'informer et d'orienter l'opinion de ses lecteurs. / Roman Catholic missionaries arrived in Rwanda in 1900. ln collaboration with the colonial power, they began with economic, social., political and cultural transformations. The role of the Church was evangelization : it was also in charge of the education of the Rwandan society. As the years progressed, the Rwandans were introduced to the culture of writing at the expense of oral practices. Soon the need of wanting to maintain those new baptized people to the Christian faith and especially to extend the training of catechumen which were not efficiently formed, they decided to set up a PRINT MEDIA based in a series of papers published either in the vernacular or in French language. ln addition to the religious teachings, the articles addressed the social and political problems. For example with the first newspaper to be implemented, " Kinyamateka", the authorities the colonial as indigenous used it to send their instructions to the population. After several years the editorial line has been modified and became more concerned with social and political problems of the country without neglecting aspects of the Christian life. This catholic press has contributed greatly to the awareness of readers deal with political currents triggered the eve of independence. For thirty years (1931-1961) it was able to play its role to educate, inform and guide the opinion of its readers.

Estuda-se a formação do clero católico considerando valores de futuros sacerdotes. Os valores são analisados levando-se em conta seus elementos de amplitude, exigência e escolha. Emprega-se a distinção de Rokeach entre valores terminais e instrumentais. As transformações sociais atribuídas à pós-modernidade são consideradas à luz das teorias propostas por Jean-François Lyotard e Anthony Giddens (modernidade tardia). Os sujeitos são cinco seminaristas, concluintes do curso de Teologia e próximos da ordenação sacerdotal. Utiliza-se entrevista semi-estruturada composta de sete itens (Igreja universal- Igreja local;ecumenismo-diálogo interreligioso; verdade; missão; mulher; pessoa do sacerdote; meios de comunicação) referentes a três temas da pós-modernidade(metanarrativa; subjetividade; simulação-realidade virtual). Constata-se que os valores terminais permanecem os mesmos, ao passo que os instrumentais alteram-se, o que permite aos sujeitos manter sua adesão aos primeiros. Os resultados apontam o modelo de Giddens (modernidade tardia) como mais adequado à compreensão das transformações socioculturais do fim do milênio do que aquele sugerido por Lyotard. / This work studies the education of the Catholic clergy considering values of future priests. The values are analyzed taking their elements of amplitude; requiredness and choice. Rokeach's distinction is used between terminal and instrumental values. The social changes attributed to the postmodernity are considered according to the theories proposed by Jean-François Lyotard and Anthony Giddens (late modernity). The subjects are five seminarians of the course of Theology and next to the priestly ordination. It is used semi-structured interviews composed of seven items (universal Church/local Church; ecumenism/interfaith dialogue; truth; mission; woman; person of the priest; media) referring to the three themes of postmodernity (metanarrative, subjectivity; simulation-virtual reality). It is evidenced that the terminal values remain the same, while the instrumental ones change. It allows the subjects to keep their adhesion to terminal values. The results point to the model of Giddens (late modernity) as more adjusted to the understanding of the sociocultural changes of the end of the millennium than the one suggested by Lyotard.