THE PRAXIS OF LIBERATION (Emmanuel Mbueya)
I
taught some classes (Metaphysics and Cosmology) in two major
seminaries: one in the eastern part (Murhesa) and another in the
western part (Abbe Ngidi- Boma) of the country. I visited the major
seminar of Kisangani (in the Province Orientale) and the major seminar
John XXIII in Kinshasa. I had time to talk with students about many
questions related to their studies and ministries in their home
dioceses. Among the biggest challenges they are facing are poverty and
a “ratio studiorum” to update.
In the diocese, many priests are
almost needy. During the summer holidays, those who can afford it go to
Europe to find some money. Others have to struggle on their own to run
the parish. In the seminaries, classes resume only when the academic
staff receive money from Rome (OPM). And so, Christians and their
pastors live in mentality of beggary. In many dioceses and parishes, it
is just an economic disaster.
Even theology can’t prepare them to be
the leaders people need in these times. They are far from being agents
of social transformation. They can repeat very well Thomas Aquinas’
theology but they can’t survive by their own means. The content of
their formation does not make them leaders able to face the concrete
situation of the people they are supposed to lead. What to do?
As we
know, the Sapientia Christiana determines the profile of studies in the
Catholic institutions of higher education. In the seminaries, they
study the history of philosophy intensely. This information is useful
since it enables the priest to understand the right orthodoxy and all
the heresies over the ages. But, it is not enough. In the DRC, we are
facing a great crisis of leadership. We want pastors who can bring
change into lives of the people. They must know the political and
economic situation and face them. They are not politicians but they are
‘elders’ in the community, and the kingly ministry places them in the
position of rulers. Therefore they have to be trained to be leaders and
not beggars.
For the program of courses in Congolese major
seminaries, it is not enough to give some notions of accountancy,
conflict management, human rights etc… Rather it is time to develop a
theology of work, of human rights, of political power, a philosophy of
the person and community, an ecological ethics and so on… African
teachers must be as creative as their colleagues are in America and in
Europe. The freedom of research, creativity and productivity must be
the criteria of a sound teaching in those seminaries. Exodus requires
an intellectual move. They must form priests called to be these
channels of abundant life in small Christian communities.
almost needy. During the summer holidays, those who can afford it go to
Europe to find some money. Others have to struggle on their own to run
the parish. In the seminaries, classes resume only when the academic
staff receive money from Rome (OPM). And so, Christians and their
pastors live in mentality of beggary. In many dioceses and parishes, it
is just an economic disaster.
Even theology can’t prepare them to be
the leaders people need in these times. They are far from being agents
of social transformation. They can repeat very well Thomas Aquinas’
theology but they can’t survive by their own means. The content of
their formation does not make them leaders able to face the concrete
situation of the people they are supposed to lead. What to do?
As we
know, the Sapientia Christiana determines the profile of studies in the
Catholic institutions of higher education. In the seminaries, they
study the history of philosophy intensely. This information is useful
since it enables the priest to understand the right orthodoxy and all
the heresies over the ages. But, it is not enough. In the DRC, we are
facing a great crisis of leadership. We want pastors who can bring
change into lives of the people. They must know the political and
economic situation and face them. They are not politicians but they are
‘elders’ in the community, and the kingly ministry places them in the
position of rulers. Therefore they have to be trained to be leaders and
not beggars.
For the program of courses in Congolese major
seminaries, it is not enough to give some notions of accountancy,
conflict management, human rights etc… Rather it is time to develop a
theology of work, of human rights, of political power, a philosophy of
the person and community, an ecological ethics and so on… African
teachers must be as creative as their colleagues are in America and in
Europe. The freedom of research, creativity and productivity must be
the criteria of a sound teaching in those seminaries. Exodus requires
an intellectual move. They must form priests called to be these
channels of abundant life in small Christian communities.
Abundant Life in the Small Christian Communities
Immediately
after my ordination, I was attending evening prayer on Thursday in a
small Christian community. I was disappointed to notice how people
prayed with borrowed words and ought by proxy. My first concern was to
know how can we bring a social commitment to these gathering. I stated
some simple truths in the way of thinking and praying. Among them there
are the three following points:
after my ordination, I was attending evening prayer on Thursday in a
small Christian community. I was disappointed to notice how people
prayed with borrowed words and ought by proxy. My first concern was to
know how can we bring a social commitment to these gathering. I stated
some simple truths in the way of thinking and praying. Among them there
are the three following points:
-Outside of the world, there is no salvation
We
have been trained in a Platonic dualism: where salvation was supposed
to be for the soul en route to heaven. Political and economic matters
are profane. Catechesis and spiritual matters are holy and for heaven.
We go to church to talk about heavenly issues, ‘holy business”
(sacraments, prayers, bible reading and so on…). There is a great need
to understand the meaning of the Incarnation and so to consider
economic and political matters as part of God’s plan. Every situation
in our daily life is part of our history of salvation.
Therefore the
trade in coltan, copper, and diamonds can be part of the Church’s
business. Instead of begging in Western churches, African churches must
learn to do business with their own resources and so to become
self-reliant. Exodus requires a change in the way of considering
wealth. The time has come to stop begging and to start finding other
ways of sustaining our lives. For that we must give a new meaning to
the concept of stewardship.
have been trained in a Platonic dualism: where salvation was supposed
to be for the soul en route to heaven. Political and economic matters
are profane. Catechesis and spiritual matters are holy and for heaven.
We go to church to talk about heavenly issues, ‘holy business”
(sacraments, prayers, bible reading and so on…). There is a great need
to understand the meaning of the Incarnation and so to consider
economic and political matters as part of God’s plan. Every situation
in our daily life is part of our history of salvation.
Therefore the
trade in coltan, copper, and diamonds can be part of the Church’s
business. Instead of begging in Western churches, African churches must
learn to do business with their own resources and so to become
self-reliant. Exodus requires a change in the way of considering
wealth. The time has come to stop begging and to start finding other
ways of sustaining our lives. For that we must give a new meaning to
the concept of stewardship.
-Stewardship as ownership and nothing else
From
the history of the country, we may notice that the common good has
never been the main concern or the rulers since King Leopold II. They
just oppress people and plunder the resources. The Congolese have never
claimed his right of ownership over these natural resources. Every day
they become more and more poor. When other countries are reflecting on
the environment, global warming, OGM, we all think how to protect the
mother earth. The theology or stewardship has developed to understand
better how man is a steward and not the owner of God’s creation. When
these Western theologians talk about it, they embellish its meaning by
demonstrating how ancestors of indigenous people relied on nature, the
natural world. All of these green NGOs fight to preserve nature that
industrialized countries are destroying. That is nice! But when a ship
dumped it toxic waste in Abidjan in September 2006, they kept quite.
Again, that is nice! Knowing that, let us introduce now a new view on
stewardship. The stewardship we are talking concerns the way we must
possess our riches. To stop the plunder of Leopold II, Belgium, Mobutu,
multinational companies and neighboring countries, people must develop
a culture of accountability; they must know how much the government
receives from the multinationals to invest, how much tax they pay for
social contribution and so on…The Mining code must be translated into
the four national languages. Each Commission of Justice and Peace in
each diocese, parish and small Christian community must help people to
understand what the government is accountable to them for every single
dollar spent or invested.
In a country where people are unemployed,
there is a need to develop a theology of work (Dominique Chenu), but
one from what people feel and live in the context of anthropological
poverty. It is a theology where fair distribution is the component of
that work shared by owners.
the history of the country, we may notice that the common good has
never been the main concern or the rulers since King Leopold II. They
just oppress people and plunder the resources. The Congolese have never
claimed his right of ownership over these natural resources. Every day
they become more and more poor. When other countries are reflecting on
the environment, global warming, OGM, we all think how to protect the
mother earth. The theology or stewardship has developed to understand
better how man is a steward and not the owner of God’s creation. When
these Western theologians talk about it, they embellish its meaning by
demonstrating how ancestors of indigenous people relied on nature, the
natural world. All of these green NGOs fight to preserve nature that
industrialized countries are destroying. That is nice! But when a ship
dumped it toxic waste in Abidjan in September 2006, they kept quite.
Again, that is nice! Knowing that, let us introduce now a new view on
stewardship. The stewardship we are talking concerns the way we must
possess our riches. To stop the plunder of Leopold II, Belgium, Mobutu,
multinational companies and neighboring countries, people must develop
a culture of accountability; they must know how much the government
receives from the multinationals to invest, how much tax they pay for
social contribution and so on…The Mining code must be translated into
the four national languages. Each Commission of Justice and Peace in
each diocese, parish and small Christian community must help people to
understand what the government is accountable to them for every single
dollar spent or invested.
In a country where people are unemployed,
there is a need to develop a theology of work (Dominique Chenu), but
one from what people feel and live in the context of anthropological
poverty. It is a theology where fair distribution is the component of
that work shared by owners.
-Social justice and not solidarity
We
have been told how African people stand together. And we may see how in
our villages the family seems large in number and people are mixed up.
That way of sharing life is amazing. But we have to be careful when
people start to use these depictions of African life to show its
difference from Western life. It becomes just a mere ideology of
difference, full of contradictions and lies, when we look closely at
the economic injustices in these African societies. That solidarity is
only nepotism, corruption, favoritism and so many social evils which
destroyed African societies. Moreover, the way our ancestors lived is
no longer ours. We may praise the tradition of Africa (Bujo, Bimwenyi),
but that tradition is also the source of our misery. We don’t need a
myth of solidarity: people can help each other as we do without
claiming any kind of solidarity.
What we need is social justice as participation and fairness (John RAWLS).
In
the DRC, we saw how our small Christian communities work. They gather
every Thursday to share the word of the Lord. Everybody shares how he
understands that word. We have to change. Christians must first read
the signs of the times in their daily life and then find its meaning
from the Bible and their own thinking. They have to become the subject
of their own history, to read the Bible from below (Musa Dube). Small
Christian Communities must be places where Christians practice that
pedagogy for the oppressed (Pablo Freire) to develop strategies to
combat corruption, mismanagement and conflict.
have been told how African people stand together. And we may see how in
our villages the family seems large in number and people are mixed up.
That way of sharing life is amazing. But we have to be careful when
people start to use these depictions of African life to show its
difference from Western life. It becomes just a mere ideology of
difference, full of contradictions and lies, when we look closely at
the economic injustices in these African societies. That solidarity is
only nepotism, corruption, favoritism and so many social evils which
destroyed African societies. Moreover, the way our ancestors lived is
no longer ours. We may praise the tradition of Africa (Bujo, Bimwenyi),
but that tradition is also the source of our misery. We don’t need a
myth of solidarity: people can help each other as we do without
claiming any kind of solidarity.
What we need is social justice as participation and fairness (John RAWLS).
In
the DRC, we saw how our small Christian communities work. They gather
every Thursday to share the word of the Lord. Everybody shares how he
understands that word. We have to change. Christians must first read
the signs of the times in their daily life and then find its meaning
from the Bible and their own thinking. They have to become the subject
of their own history, to read the Bible from below (Musa Dube). Small
Christian Communities must be places where Christians practice that
pedagogy for the oppressed (Pablo Freire) to develop strategies to
combat corruption, mismanagement and conflict.