Uwineza, Marcel (2015) Reimagining the Human; Suffering and Memory: Fostering Discipleship and Reconciliation for a “Church of the People” in PostGenocide Rwanda. Licentiate thesis, Boston College School of Theology and Ministry.
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Abstract
Be instruments of reconciliation … Two decades after the tragic events of the 1994 genocide, reconciliation and the healing of wounds remain the priority of the church in Rwanda ... even if the road is long and requires patience, dialogue and mutual respect … The church has its place in the reconstruction of a reconciled Rwandan society: with all the strength of your faith and Christian hope … go ahead vigorously, constantly bearing witness to the truth. The contemporary church of Rwanda faces the challenge of reconciliation. Pope Francis expresses this challenge in the above quotation. While some Rwandese have opted for coexistence, reconciliation with God and neighbor is not an option for the church. The 1994 genocide against the Tutsis (April-July 1994), the war, and the massacres wounded us all. What went wrong for a predominantly Catholic country to lose close to a million of its people killed by their neighbors? How did we construct walls of ethnic separation? Given the suffering caused by the 1994 genocide and its “dangerous memories,” how do we now foster reconciliation and Christian discipleship for and among many broken bodies, minds, and spirits? Pope Francis, in his most recent address to the Bishops of Rwanda during the course of their ad limina visit on April 3, 2014, asked them to be instruments of reconciliation. Furthermore, in their recent meeting (March 13, 2015) in Windhoek, Namibia, the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar dedicated the year 2015-2016 as a year of reconciliation in Africa. “We must not be afraid to name and shame the devil or to correct the ills of society if we want to be a truly reconciled African continent,”2 the bishops emphasized. Consequently, this thesis is a response to the Pope’s and African bishops’ call for a church whose heart, ministry, and responsibility is reconciliation.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Licentiate) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Discipleship and Reconciliation, Genocide, Rwanda, Great lakes Region, Hutu, Tutsi, |
| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BV Practical Theology |
| Divisions: | Afro-Christiana |
| Depositing User: | Mr Christopher Mapunda |
| Date Deposited: | 08 Jun 2015 11:44 |
| Last Modified: | 08 Jun 2015 11:54 |
| URI: | http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/id/eprint/187 |
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