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This thesis addresses the fundamental problem of whether and how the church's tradition can be understood as revelatory given its patriarchal nature and its implication in relations of power. It is therefore concerned with how feminist Catholics are to be accountable to tradition. In addressing this problem the thesis follows three basic movements. The first juxtaposes contemporary discourses that are concerned with revelation, on the one hand, and rupture, on the other. However, by an investigation of the apophatic tradition in theology and its relation to the cataphatic, it suggests that this juxtaposition is both necessary to theology and that it has a long theological pedigree. Therefore the second movement, in seeking mediating paths with which to respond to this rupture in knowledge, proposes a dual mediation that maintains an unreconcilable tensiveness between a path of transformative interpretation and a path which continues to probe that which is unsaid. The third movement looks at how this is expressed in the theology of tradition and the church. By highlighting the distinction between tradition as the whole life of the church and the Tradition which is ultimately Other, it points to a fundamental tension between that which is witnessed to in discourse and is therefore implicated in relations of power and that which, while witnessed to, is ultimately uncapturable but nevertheless accompanies all discourse. In this context, the thesis concludes, the church is both the privileged witness to the Other, but its witness is a wounded witness. While it is in the church that we encounter the Tradition, the challenge that we face is to find ways to allow that which is Other to break through our limited and necessarily wounded discourse. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1997.

Roman Catholicism and Srivaiṣṇavism are two religious traditions in which mediation, primarily through the use of images, plays a central role in soteriology. A comparison of various modes of mediation between these two traditions will highlight a dialectic of presence and absence, inherent in mediation, and will examine the various ways of interpreting and dealing with this dialectic in their respective theologies. Three general categories of mediation are identified through which this comparison will take place: God, saint, and priest. / Images of the full presence of God, namely the eucharistic host in Roman Catholicism and the arcavatara in Srivaiṣṇavism, mediate this full presence either through the transformation of substance (as in Roman Catholicism) or through the appearance of materiality and limited form (in Srivaiṣṇavism). Saints and alvars can also be regarded as images or mediatory modes; the saint embodies and mediates Christ's presence, becoming "as if" Christ. This presence is manifested not only in the saint's life but in his or her relics as well. The alvar is regarded as an aṁsa or partial incarnation, thus manifesting a part of God, most notably His ornaments, weapons and companions. / A specific comparison of Mary and Aṇṭaḷ/Sri will further highlight the dialectic of presence and absence in addition to pointing out their unique status within their respective traditions. A comparison of priests and acaryas will show mediation in living images. Priests become "as if" Christ through their ordination, and are seen to embody him particularly in specific ritual acts. The acarya functions in much the same way as Aṇṭaḷ/Sri, mediating between God and the believer as an aṁsa or partial incarnation. / Different theological conceptions of God and incarnation result in the different understandings of mediation and the different ways that the two traditions deal with the dialectic of presence and absence. Images in both traditions also bring to light an "as if" conception in the mind of the believer; saints and priests function "as if" Christ and the various images in Srivaiṣṇaavism appear "as if" material or "as if" human, thus allowing them to mediate the divine presence to the community.

This thesis attempts to give a sketch of the life of Bishop Mandlenkhosi Zwane (1932-1980) who was bishop of Manzini for only four years. His enemies thought that he was magnificently prevaricating, his friends saw him as plain-dealing and bound by invisible power. Being the first Catholic African Bishop in Swaziland, he brought many changes in the life of the Church. Consecrated to the episcopate when the diocese of Manzini and the Southern Africa Catholic Bishops' Conference urgently needed a leader who would challenge injustice and the lack of authentic African spirituality, Zwane felt compelled to fight for justice and promote inculturation thus building the church. Though at a certain stage he was declared persona non grata by the South African Government; he did not stop helping the victims of injustice, in fact later on in our discussion we will find that Zwane had been at a certain stage branded a politician. He was not interested in political leadership, but he was interested in spiritual leadership. Since he was also interested in social justice some governments in the Southern Africa region felt threatened by his presence. Let us look briefly at the method. For many years Catholics in Swaziland have felt the need for a biography of Bishop Zwane. Surprisingly, no one has yet written the biography of Zwane. Since very little has been written on Zwane, in an endeavour to write his biography I felt compelled to conduct many interviews with some of the people who knew him. This means that for our knowledge of the life and the episcopate of Zwane, we are almost entirely depended upon interviews conducted fourteen years after his tragic death. A tape-recorder and questionnaires have been used. Other people who should have been interviewed have been unintentionally missed. We have made an effort to screen out errors and discrepancies. By far the most important written source for the life of Bishop Zwane is the collections of speeches and writings compiled and published by the Catholic Institute for International Relations. The oral and written sources provide new insight into Zwane's character and philosophy. They also throw certain aspects of his life into new perspective, in particular Zwane's feeling towards the poor whom he adored unequivocally. Our discussion is divided into three chapters. The first chapter deals with inculturation, which seems now to have attracted many people in Africa especially these days when the Church is preparing to enter into the third millennium. Also in that chapter, we shall try to understand how the Church looks at inculturation. Some documents of the Second Vatican and Post-Vatican Council will be used. Our reflection on inculturation will be reintroduced in the third chapter where we will be looking at Bishop Zwane's life. The inculturation we discuss in the first chapter is designed to help the reader understand how the church locks at inculturation. The second chapter looks at the Catholic Church and evangelization in Swaziland. That chapter will help us to understand how the church in Swaziland has carried out the work of evangelization amongst the Swazis. We are going to look briefly at how different religious congregations that engaged themselves in the work of evangelization established themselves in the country. When religious congregations arrived in Swaziland they discovered that there were many social problems. It will be interesting to look how they tried to address these issues as foreign missionaries. That discussion will certainly prepare us to see how Zwane who was the first African Bishop addressed similar problems. After one has understood the different approaches she or he will not hesitate to call Zwane a pioneer. Zwane tried to lay the foundations for the encounter between the Swazi culture and the Gospel. The principal aim of chapter three is to throw light on the life and the episcopate of Zwane. This chapter will consist of a careful study of some of the main issues discussed in the previous chapters such as inculturation, relations between Church and State, and other issues. Also in that chapter we shall see that the Church is one of the institutions that have a strong sense of social responsibility. The Church concern for justice was obvious in many conferences which were held during Zwane's episcopate. Our study on Zwane will enable us to learn how to build a prophetic Church. Finally; we shall be looking at the mysterious death of Bishop Zwane. Many questions have been raised about his death. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1996.

This exploratory study examines the question of Mariology in the Anglican Church in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It focuses on how Anglican women priests relate to the Virgin Mary within the patriarchal structures and African context of the Anglican Diocese of Natal. It aims to ascertain the perceptions of the Virgin Mary held by a sample group of ordained, doctrinally informed, Anglican women. The premise is that because the Anglican Church is closer to Roman Catholicism than other Protestant churches, these clerics might be more open to the dogmas of Mariology as proclaimed by the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church. The depths of the subjects‘ knowledge of Marian dogma are ascertained, as well as the extent to which their spirituality and devotions are affected by this. An attempt is made to establish the potential advantages of an enhanced Marian presence in The Anglican Church in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This study is intended not merely to establish the dogmatic similarities in the Anglican and Roman Catholic traditions and underscore those issues which inhibit Marian veneration among local ordained Anglican women. Its intention is to elicit the effects of dogma on spirituality and worship, and to discern whether the subjects feel an affinity with Catholic Marian dogma and see any possibility of ecumenical progress between the two Churches. Roman Catholic Marian dogma is elucidated and examined. The four main dogmas are presented: the Theotokos, her Perpetual Virginity, her Immaculate Conception and her Assumption into Heaven. The Protestant and Anglican reservations regarding these dogmas are examined, and ecumenical dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant Churches is discussed, including the bilateral ARCIC discussions with the Anglican Communion. Nine Anglican priests are interviewed, and the data and its implications for Anglican-Roman Catholic ecumenism are examined. The findings indicate that the subjects do not subscribe to Roman Catholic dogma and praxis on Mary. It is proposed that Marian dogma per se is not a hindrance to ecumenism, but the fact of the dogmas reflecting the teachings on more fundamental theological issues such as the nature of sacraments, the trinity, the nature of grace and eschatology in the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

This study has been motivated by the observation made in urban centres of Cameroon, that many Catholics are getting involved in divine, faith or spiritual healing ministry; something that has not been the case few years ago. A closer look at this phenomenon revealed that, not only the people were committing to the ministry, but the influence was external to the Catholic Church. With the gradual expansion of Pentecostalism in the cities and towns of the country, with its emphasis on healing, healing ministry became more of a necessity for other churches. The Roman Catholic Church having neglected this ministry over centuries is at the crossroad. And the question is to know how Catholic healing ministers can improve their healing ministry with elements borrowed from Pentecostal churches. In a fieldwork in Cameroonian city of Yaoundé, 20 interviews were conducted: 10 from the catholic side and 10 from the Pentecostal side represented by The Apostolic Church Cameroon. These data were analysed by the Thematic Analysis method. The analysis and the reflection that followed brought to light that there are different types of healing ministers operating in our cities but not all of them are actually doing what needs to be done. At this, Jesus Christ is presented as the model of healing for ministers to imitate; because Jesus did not heal for his own glory and interest rather for the infinite glory of God and for the salvation of the vulnerable people. The study states that ecumenism between Catholics and Pentecostal can well be initiated from healing ministry through a set of identified recommendations. KEY WORDS: Roman Catholic Church, Faith Healing, Healing ministry, Pentecostalism and Charismatic Churches. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

A field survey was conducted to investigate differences in attitudes toward religious changes in a population of church-going Roman Catholics. An attitude scale comprising twenty items referring to changes in the Catholic Church was prepared during pilot studies. Half of the items referred to changes already occurring, and half to proposed or possible future changes. The attitude scale was administered to a sample of parishes in the Roman Catholic diocese of Baker, Oregon. It was administered during regular Sunday services to take advantage of the saliency effect of group membership. A response to an item of the scale indicating the subject's agreement with the change was operationally defined as a liberal response. A response indicating disagreement with change was considered a conservative response. It was hypothesized that churchgoing Catholics would be more liberal or accepting of changes already instituted in the Church than they would be of merely possible changes. The results supported this hypothesis. Total scores on the scale were correlated with the age and education of the respondents. The results support the hypothesis that attitudes toward religious changes covary with age and education much like other social attitudes, as the younger and more educated respondents showed more liberalism or acceptance of change than did older and less educated respondents. A detailed analysis of several items shows a wide divergence between parishoners' attitudes and ecclesiastical dogma. The results of the research also indicate that in the population surveyed there was a great deal of intragroup variation in attitudes toward religious changes.