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| Title: | The plight of the indigenous Catholic priest in Africa: an Igbo example |
| Authors: | Salamone, Frank A. Mbabuike, Michael |
| Year: | 1994 |
| Periodical: | Africa: rivista trimestrale di studi e documentazione |
| Volume: | 49 |
| Issue: | 2 |
| Pages: | 210-224 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic term: | Nigeria |
| Subjects: | inculturation Catholic Church Igbo |
| External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/40760880 |
| Abstract: | A basic premise of this paper is that Christianity has come to stay in Africa. The issue, then, is how Christianity can stay in Africa without completely wiping out all traces of Africanisms. More specifically, the paper addresses the plight of the Igbo Catholic priest in Nigeria caught between the conservatism of the Vatican, the demands of Nigerian reality and a rapidly evolving incarnationist mission theology. In Nigeria, as in the rest of Africa, the bishops are generally opposed to the Africanization of the Church. They believe that the Christianity of the white missionaries should be maintained, somehow bestowing power and prestige on the African successor clergy. Apart from pioneers like Father Martin Maduka and Father J.C. Akunna, who tried to unite Catholic beliefs and practices and local traditions, most African clergy have shown little interest in meaningful Africanization. However, the majority of Nigerian parishioners currently appear to be in favour of a syncretic union of Catholic and traditional elements. If Christianity is to survive in Africa today, Church leaders must find a common ground with traditional beliefs. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. in French and Italian. |
