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Communion Ecclesiology and Social Transformation in African Catholicism
Between Vatican Council II and African Synod II
by Idara Otu
Foreword by Gerard Mannion
Series: African Christian Studies Series
Imprint: Pickwick Publications
In this book, Idara Otu, one of the new theological voices from Africa, rethinks ecclesiology in the changing context of a wounded and broken world. What does the Catholic Church in Africa look like post-Vatican II? This book creatively illuminates the intrinsic connections between ecclesial communion and social mission in the changing face of the church in Africa. The multiple levels of dialogue in African Catholicism, especially in the reception and contextualization of conciliar teachings, is redefining world Christianity. The author explores how dialogue, synodality, inculturation, leadership, human security, social issues, and social transformation are shaping the identity and mission of the church in Africa. This book also engages recent magisterial teachings and diverse theological voices in developing the praxis for the emergence of particular churches in Africa that are defined by the joys and sorrows of God's people. The book calls for a Triple-C church, revitalized through Conversion, Communality, and Conversation, as well as fostering integral and sustainable social transformation in Africa's contested march toward modernity.
Idara Otu, MSP, the 2018 Aquinas Research Scholar of the Dominican Institute of Toronto at the University of St Michael’s, Toronto, Canada, currently teaches systematic theology at the National Missionary Seminary of St. Paul, Abuja, Nigeria.
“Communion Ecclesiology and Social Transformation in African Catholicism is very timely for a serious study in ecclesiology. This work by Idara Otu is based on a systematic, biblical, and historical study of Catholic theology. Its possibilities for Christian theology are enormous. Anyone interested in the convergence and influence of three momentous events (Vatican II, the First African Synod, and the Second African Synod) on African ecclesial life will appreciate this well-researched work.”
—Cyril Orji, University of Dayton
“With depth and breadth Idara Otu traces the meaning of trinitarian communion ecclesiology for the church of Africa from the Second Vatican Council through the First and Second African Synods. He makes an outstanding contribution to scholarship on the reception of Vatican II and the relationship between the internal constitution of the church and its ad extra mission.”
—Darren Dias, OP, University of St Michael’s College, Toronto
“Many progressive theologians were silent during Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI’s attempt to lasso the hermeneutics of Vatican II with communion ecclesiology. In turn, these theologians now feel safe to come out and criticize it. Sidestepping these controversies, this author presents a fresh and thoughtful presentation of communion ecclesiology that grounds it contextually in the African theology of family. By doing so, he offers an alternative to some of the more idealistic expressions of communion.”
—John D. Dadosky, Regis College/University of Toronto
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