Diploma in Religious Formation

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Bringing Peace and Reconciliation to Sierra Leone With Reference To 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
(Tangaza University College, 2005-04) Kallon, Titus Mohamed
My topic of choice is: "Bringing Peace and Reconciliation to Sierra Leone in Light of 2 Corinthians 5:16-21. To reconcile is to reunite, to bring back to harmony. Reconciliation implies therefore, that division has taken place, separation and rupture. Two realities, two persons, two people are at odds, do not relate well as they should. There is discord, disunity, disharmony; oneness has been ruptured.' Sierra Leone is one country in Western Africa that has experienced all the above because of the ten years of brutal war which saw the rebels resorting methods of unimaginable savagery: killing tens of thousands of people and children, leaving them as living symbols of terror. Paul's preaching as a source of reconciliation is marvelous; it is, "one that holds within it the entire Christian mystery: reconciliation of human beings with God, among one another, and with the whole cosmos."' Paul's preaching of reconciliation, breaks new theological ground. "He deliberately makes a fundamental correction. He said it is not God who needs to be reconciled to human beings, but it is human beings who need to reconciled to God."3 Reconciliation and righteousness, or justification, are terms Paul utilizes to express what God has done for us through Christ; both are connected with the crucified Christ.' By focusing on Paul's idea of reconciliation, and looking at the causes and effects of the war on the people of Sierra Leone, and how the Inter-Religion Council and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission came in to preach the message of reconciliation, I hope to deepen my knowledge of Paul's idea of reconciliation, and his reference to "new creation". The "new" which has come now that the old has passed away locates Paul's ministry of reconciliation within the new creation, the new way of existence brought about in the death and resurrection of Christ.' According to Rev. Fornah Usman, a minister of the inter-religions council, with the "suffering, death and resurrection of Christ, no matter what those guys ("those guys" referring to the rebels) may have done, there is room on the side of the Lord to forgive them and to bring them back on the road they are supposed to be on.'' This essay is made up of three chapters. The first chapter will focus on the history of Sierra Leone beginning from its location in the continent, geographical and political divisions, its natural resources and how it gained independence. The chapter will also at look the causes and effects of the war on the people of Sierra Leone after independence and the divisions created as a result of the war. In chapter two, I will look at Paul's idea of reconciliation, how he faced division in Corinth, the socio-political and religious situation at the time. It will also look at how Paul's preaching is a source of reconciliation and the outcome of Paul's preaching. In chapter three, which is my final chapter, I intend to use five to six principles from chapter two, which may shed light upon how Paul's theology can be concretely applied. Chapter three will deal with the various movements for peace as a result of the war, the emergence of the Inter-Religious Council and the "Truth and Reconciliation Commission." (TRC). As a congregation, many young men every year aspire to join the congregation and these young men have experienced the bitterness of war. This chapter also makes an attempt to look at how our formation houses can become places where these young men joining can feel free to tell their stories of the war, own them, forgive themselves and God. A place they experience reconciliation and begin to live a normal lie. I do not intend to depict formation houses as therapeutic communities but communities that can listen, accommodate and help the young people discern God's will for them. These people might not end up becoming religious at all but might have benefited after living with congregation for a year or two. The essay will close with a general conclusion in which the ideas of the three chapters will be summarized. The ideas and insights that make up this essay are taken from sacred scriptures, the magisterial teaching of the church, and from reliable literature on the topic. It is my hope to express to you a vision of a ministry of reconciliation.
Authentic Witness in Religious Life: A Case Study of The Sisters of The Sacred Heart Of Jesus
(Tangaza University College, 2005) Nwankwo, Justine Ndidi
The key terms of the topic are the two key words "authentic" and "witness" and this chapter will be base on them. My intention is to investigate in this chapter the meaning of authentic witness, beginning by defining and mentioning briefly on the separate words in order to come to a concrete meaning of authentic. To deepen and support this meaning I will also look into the Biblical and African understanding of authentic witness. This is in attempt to answer the question What is an authentic witness? In this section I will like to give a brief explanation of the meaning of authentic witness. Then at the end I will come with a definition of authentic witness.
An African Indigenous Perspective of Initial Christian Religious Accompaniment
(Tangaza University College, 2005-10) Santos Lobo, Isabel Dos
This study is meant to address some of the anomalies observed in the initial formation of African candidates to Christian Religious Life. I shall attempt this by comparing Agikuyu initiation process with the Christian religious initial formation. The study is based on the assumption that there are many good values within the African initiation rites that could be applied in the formation of African young candidates to Christian Religious Life. Inculturation of Christian values within the African context implies searching for African ways of forming Africans. The current way of forming Africans has been successful as far as the adherence to religious life by Africans is concerned, but it is doubtful if it is effective and accommodative of the African culture. Do Africans feel at home right from their early stage of formation or do they perceive their formation as a foreign project? Do African formators feel free to bring in their cultural values to formation or they feel forced to follow the rigid European model of formation? These and other questions will constitute the core of this paper in order to seek for effective ways of forming candidates to Christian Religious Life.
A Proposed Pre-Novitiate Formation Project For the Province of Mother of The Greatest Love Of the Canossian Daughters of Charity
(Tangaza University College, 2005) Kuen Rita, Chung Sau
In the year 2002, the General Council of the Canossian Sisters established a new Province in Africa — the Province of Mother of the Greatest Love. It is composed of three countries: Egypt, the Sudan and Uganda. The presence of our Sisters in these lands gradually attracted young women to join our Congregation. There is thus a growing need for the ministry of Initial Formation. Being new. the Province has no well established formation program of its own. The Sisters in the formation ministry have been using the formation program of the Province of Eastern Africa. Though there are commonalities among the African cultures, each country is distinct from the others historically and socially. Egypt and Sudan are Arabic countries and have a strong Islamic cultural background. These factors make the new Province very different from the Province of Eastern Africa and the new Province is becoming more and more aware of the need of a sound. localized, and inculturated formation throughout all stages of Religious Life. The vvriter of this project was involved in formation work in the Province and tbund it very challenging. This work is the result of her two years study of Spirituaiity and Religious Formation. The objective of this work is to present to the Province a more developed and concrete plan of Pre-Novitiate formation. It is based on what is said about formation in the Rule of Life, the Canossian Plan of Formation. the Plan of Formation of the Province of Eastern Africa. and the documents of the Church. In addition. it takes into consideration the historical. cultural and social background of the candidates. It aims to be a useful tool to help formators and formation communities as they are entrusted with the important ministry of shaping the future of the Province and the Congregation. Religious formation is a life long process. It begins with the Pre-Novitiate formation and continues with the Novitiate, the juniorate and the on-going formation until one comes to the end of the battle of life. A well established formation plan should cover all the stages of formation, thus showing the graduality and continuity of the whole process. Nonetheless, due to the time factor, this work can only address the first stage. that of the Pre-Novitiate formation, Knowing that theory and ideal need to be confronted and tested by the reality of life, the writer sincerely welcomes suggestions and comments from those who read it or use it. It is the hope of the writer that this work will be an inspiration to others for future contributions to the completion of the whole plan of formation for the new Province.
A Pre-Novitiate Formation Programme Project For The Divine Word Missionaries
(Tangaza University College, 2005-03) Lima, Carlos Vieira
Formation constitutes an essential element of religious and missionary life. "The Church, together with Congregations of men and women religious, considers formation a top priority. As a result, much re-search, reflection, evaluation, revision and revitalization of formation programmes has taken place, not least with our own Society.-I The formulation of the vision and goal of formation, coupled with the structuring and re-structuring of formation programmes, pre-supposes a number of critical questions being asked by the Society. Who can be admitted to religious missionary life? Who are being formed? How are they being formed? What are they being formed for? What approach should be taken? What model? The structure? The over-all vision?2 It was in view of these concerns that this formation programme project was undertaken. The aim of this project is to design a formation programme that can offer a framework, which will assist those working in formation at this particular stage, Pre- Novitiate, as well as at other stages of formation in the Society of the Divine Word, in the Kenya-Tanzania Province. The choice of the topic was made based on two elements: the first one is my own experience in formation work in the Pre-Novitiate, since December 2001; the second element was the request by the Provincial Superior to organize a formation handbook containing all the levels of formation in the Province. As I work in the Pre- Novitiate stage, I was entrusted with the responsibility of designing the Pre-Novitiate formation programme. I gladly accepted the task and chose the topic "A Pre-Novitiate Formation Programme" as the object of research of my project. This Formation Programme consists of five major sections. Section one starts with the issue of the nature of the Congregation, its aims and Spirituality. It spells out the aims, goals, nature, objectives and purpose of formation in general in the Society of the Divine Word. It also spells out the constitutive elements of the SVD identity, namely, Spiritual. Communitarian, Religious, Academic, Affective, Missionary and Physical dimensions. Section two focuses on the nature and purpose of the Pre-Novitiate stage and the essential elements of the rationale of the Pre-Novitiate programme. There are five areas or axis of formation considered essential to assist the candidate in his journey of personal growth and vocational discernment. These are: the Human, the Christian and Spiritual, the Religious and SVD, the Missionary, and the Academic formation. Section three occupies with the contents and the means of formation, and with some characteristic activities. Section four deals with the issues of those who are responsible for formation, the evaluation of the formation programme and the assessment of the candidate. Section five starts with the candidate's role in the formation process. It continues with some recommendations based on practical experiences and on the outcome of the research process/exercise. It is followed by the conclusion with few remarks and observations. In the end there is an appendix.

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