Browsing by Author "Gichanga, Samuel, Mwathi"

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    The Catholic Priest as an African Elder
    (Tangaza University College, 2009) Gichanga, Samuel, Mwathi
    This is the year of priests. Pope Benedict XVI dedicated this year to priests in order to encourage the striving for spiritual perfection and growth of vocations. This year is meant to be what Cardinal Claudio Hummes says, "a year during which we can discover anew the beauty and importance of the priesthood and of each priest." In line with this discovery, we are going to delve into the topic "Catholic priest as an African elder." One research that was conducted in Nairobi discovered that "90 percent of the Kikuyu Catholic Priests in the Nairobi Diocese have been consecrated as Kikuyu elders. The remaining 10 percent are under pressure to do so."2 This sounds like exaggerated statistics but the point is clear, priests are being made elders. While this research was conducted on Agilcuyu priests and in Nairobi Diocese, it is worth noting right from the beginning that this practice is found in other ethnic communities and dioceses as wel1.3 We are going to concentrate on the Agilcuyu elderhood for the sake of convenience.