STIMULI FOR VATICAN COUNCIL II
RELEVANCE TO CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIANITY IN AFRICA
Keywords:
VATICAN COUNCIL II, RELEVANCE, CHRISTIANITY, AFRICAAbstract
The study is an attempt to investigate the internal and external factors which prompted the Roman Catholic Church to convoke the Second Vatican Council. It examines the historical context in which the event impacted on Christianity in Africa vis-a vis the inculturation of the gospel, the ecumenical movement, and evangelization. The study which employs the tools of historical and phenomenological research reveals that the Second Vatican Council opened up vistas for the
evolution a truly African Roman Catholicism. One is not however unmindful of the challenges posed by the opportunity: there is the danger of a return to traditional religious beliefs and practices and of profaning catholic doctrine and usages under the guise of inculturation and ecumenism. In view of this, this paper concludes that the leaders of the church have a duty of synthesizing the provisions of Vatican II and the practice of inculturation, ecumenism and ecclesiology in Africa.
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