Defense Date

11-5-2010

Graduation Date

Fall 2010

Availability

Immediate Access

Submission Type

dissertation

Degree Name

PhD

Department

Theology

School

McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts

Committee Chair

George Worgul

Committee Member

Sean Kealy

Committee Member

Elochukwu Uzukwu

Keywords

pastoral mission, peacemaking, prophetic mission, Uganda

Abstract

This dissertation is a study about peacemaking in Uganda. The people of Uganda have suffered from frequent, long running violent political conflicts for many decades. In particular, I focus on the war in northern Uganda that started in 1986 and gradually developed into the Lord's Resistance Army/Movement (LRA) war that is currently being led by Joseph Kony. The dissertation studies the causes of violent political conflicts in Uganda and tries to understand why Uganda as a country has never been stable politically, socially and economically since its' independence in 1962.

The second and the most important aim of this work is to study the role of the Church in Uganda in the political conflicts that has rocked the country for so long. Going back to the founding of the Church in Uganda by the two main Churches, namely the Anglican and the Catholic Churches, the dissertation assesses the achievements and the failures of the Churches in peace-building in Uganda. This work then calls upon the Churches to do more by correcting some of the mistakes made during the founding of Christianity in the country that has contributed to the current ongoing political instability in Uganda.

This work calls for unity between the two main Christian churches as a major step toward peace-building in Uganda. Disunity makes them preach a divided gospel and a divided Christ to the people of Uganda and therefore, it makes them fail to witness to Christ and to play their prophetic role as needed in the political instability that is destroying the people of Uganda. The dissertation also studies the underpinning theological and pastoral reasons as to why the Church must be actively involved in peacemaking and peace-building in Uganda. The study goes back into the biblical roots of the Churches' peacebuilding mission on earth. Building on the Bible and on the teachings of the Church during Vatican Council II, and other Catholic social teachings, the dissertation calls upon the Church to seriously play its prophetic role to help bring peace in Uganda.

Format

PDF

Language

English

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