Ecclesia in Africa @25, An Ecclesial ‘revolution’, A Threefold Gap: A Kenyan Bishop

Despite these strong orientations about the document that is characterized with “many enriching and inspiring teachings,” the Bishop of Kenya’s Ngong diocese expressed some misgivings about the impact of the document on the people of God on the continent.

“In spite of some notable progress of the Church in terms of Catholic population, vocation-increase, spread of the Gospel, diocesan infrastructural, health, social, educational progress, etc.,” Bishop Oballa told participants at the symposium, “there are evidence-based challenges of the seemingly, shallow levels of faith, nominal Christianity, inability to address the emerging contexts of numerous independent churches, civil wars, bad governance, widespread corruption, institutional injustice, lack of rule of law, devastating spread of HIV/AIDS, famine, diverse forms of immorality, illiteracy, abuse of drugs, neglect of the youth and unemployment.”

In his considered view, the various challenges of the 25-year-old document can be explained in what he termed a “threefold” gap, comprising lack of clarity of the document’s message, that the people of God in Africa have not participated in its implementation, and that its application in daily life seems limited.

The message of Ecclesia in Africa is neither “substantively ‘clear’ nor meaningfully ‘contextualized’,” Bishop Oballa who doubles as the Vice Chairman of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) observed, adding that the content in the document has not been “‘inculturated’ to many.”

He used previous research to demonstrate that in Africa, there is “still on-going degree of pastoral dichotomy between Faith and Life; between Christianity and Culture; between Catholicism and other religions, ‘Religious Dual-affiliation to righteous and unrighteous beliefs and practices refuse to die.”

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According to the 61-year-old Prelate, the “lack of ‘peoples’ full on-going conversation and participation in its (Ecclesia in Africa) implementation process” constitutes a second limitation of the 25-year-old document.

He looked at the two-day Symposium, organized by Tangaza University College (TUC), the Kenya-based Catholic Institution of Higher learning jointly owned by some 22 Religious Orders and Societies of Apostolic Life, as an opportunity to engage selected people on the 25-year-old document.

“I believe the conference wants to theologically, pastorally and spiritually rejuvenate, renew, re-align and revive the Apostolic Exhortation ‘Ecclesia in Africa’,” the Kenyan Prelate noted and adding that the document “‘unfortunately’ has been described by some quarters in the Church as being ‘static’ or ‘inactive’ or ‘dying’ or ‘historic relic’”.

The third limitation of the document, Bishop Oballa told the Symposium, is the seeming “lack of authentic spirituality and witnessing of it in daily life.”

“The failure to implement and spiritualize the recommendations of Ecclesia in Africa is summarized into one word and that is Failure to: Witnessing! Witnessing! and Witnessing,” Bishop Oballa said.

Most of the teaching and spirituality in the document, Bishop Oballa said, “is not witnessed in daily life. In other words, the Apostolic Exhortation is NOT fully witnessed.”

He explained, “The greatest challenge raised by some Church leaders, socio-religious experts and theological researchers is ‘Lack of understanding, lack of commitment, lack of owning the Documents and not TRULY belonging to Christ.”

The failure on the part of the people of God in Africa to apply Ecclesia in Africa in their daily lives “made Pope Benedict XVI to convoke a Second Synod for Africa in 2009,” the Bishop recalled in reference to the October 2009 meeting convened under the theme, “The Church in Africa in service to Reconciliation, Justice and Peace” that resulted in the Apostolic Exhortation Africae Munus.

Despite the threefold gap in the document, Bishop Oballa argued, “The majority of us believe that ‘Ecclesia in Africa’ is alive and has to be kept alive with authentic witness in the third millennial Church in Africa. This is our belief, our hope and testimony.”

Fr. Don Bosco Onyalla is ACI Africa’s founding Editor-in-Chief. He was formed in the Congregation of the Holy Ghost Fathers (Spiritans), and later incardinated in Rumbek Diocese, South Sudan. He has a PhD in Media Studies from Daystar University in Kenya, and a Master’s degree in Organizational Communication from Marist College, New York, USA.