Faith in Africa

In October 2009 the Synod for Africa met in Rome with the theme: “The Church in Africa in service to Justice, reconciliation and peace”.

Following this meeting CAFOD and Heythrop College Centre for Christianity and Inter-religious Dialogue brought together some of the Synod Fathers and other church leaders to discuss the Church in Africa and relations with Islam.

The articles below reflect the views of individuals present.

Conclusions included:

• Catholic theology supports inter-religious dialogue.
• Conflicts that manifest as inter-religious are often rooted in access to resources, political power, and ethnicity and exacerbated by poor governance.
• In the absence of effective government it is often religious leaders who initiate peace building or other activitIies to resolve community tensions - sometimes against the political grain, sometimes amid political indifference.

• Intra-religious relations are crucial to furthering inter- religious relations and addressing fundamentalism in both Islam and Christianity.

Theological underpinnings by Michael L.Fitzgerald