KENYA: CUEA to Host Second Pan-African Catholic Congress on Theology, Society and Pastoral Life
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
The Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) located in Kenya’s capital Nairobi, is set to host the II Pan-African Catholic Congress on Theology, Society and Pastoral life that was established in November 2015.
The University in conjunction with the Pan-African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network (PACTPAN) (where situated) will have a four-day congress mid-this month of July from 19-22, focusing on the theme; Walking Together for a Vital Church for Africa and the World.
The PACTPAN that was borne out of the African Catholicism project is currently housed at the Center for World Catholicism and Inter-Cultural Theology (CWCIT), DePaul University and has over 200 active members “made up of African scholars from very diverse fields and front-line pastoral workers also engaged in a variety of different ministries.”
The African Catholicism Project was an international collaborative effort with an overarching goal to expand the production and distribution of scholarly and pastoral resources by African Catholics whose objectives among others include “Foster collaboration among Catholic scholars working in Africa and between them and scholars working in the Northern hemisphere, encourage inter-disciplinary work among scholars studying African Catholicism and elevating African Catholic sisters through mentoring, finding educational scholarships and ministerial grants, promoting their scholarly contributions, and advocating for their inclusion in the church and larger society.”
“Since its inception, the African Catholicism Project has offered a forum for African Catholic scholars to collaborate in producing and disseminating significant works for the church and society in Africa,” reads part of the statement as it continues, “The project has contributed to the formation of scholars in the African Church by bringing together generations of scholars, teachers, and pastoral workers to, with an emphasis and commitment to streamlining women at all levels of our work, to create scholarly resources and make these resources broadly available for the use in both the academy and the ministry.”
In a press release shared with AMECEA online, Friday, August 8, the congress expects more than 100 international participants representing four continents, some representatives from the Vatican and other four African prelates.
According to the statement, the Board of Editors for Concilium, the prestigious and oldest theological journal in the world, will also be holding their first ever Africa based meeting in Nairobi in order to also participate at the Congress.
For the four days, the second biannual congress will focus on synodality, women, children and a vital Church.
