Johannesburg, 20 October, 2022 / 9:19 pm (ACI Africa).
Catholic Bishops in Southern Africa have eulogized the late world-renowned researcher and theologian, Fr. Albert Nolan, as one who inspired hope among “the poor and oppressed” and acknowledged with appreciation his prophetic role during the time of apartheid in South Africa.
Aged 88, the member of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans - OP) who authored several books, including Jesus before Christianity; Jesus today: A spirituality of radical freedom; Hope in the age of despair and other talks and writings; and God in South Africa: The challenge of the Gospel, among others, died in his sleep at Marian House in Boksburg, South Africa in the early hours of Monday, October 17, OP leadership announced.
In a letter addressed to the Provincial Superior of the Dominicans, Fr. Myke Mwale, members of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) express their gratitude “for the memory of his (Fr. Nolan’s) life and the record of his prophetic thoughts through his books to transform this world into God’s Kingdom.”
In the one-page condolence message shared with ACI Africa Wednesday, October 19, SACBC members say, “The news of the passing on of Fr. Albert Nolan reached us this morning with a mix of joyful and sad feelings.”
“Joyful because Fr. Nolan, in his lifetime, with his clarity of thought driven by compassion, was a beacon of hope for the poor and oppressed in a world and a country that is still characterized by gross inequality and injustice,” SACBC members say in their October 17 message signed by the President of the three-nation Conference, Bishop Sithembele Anton Sipuka.