The Catholic Priest as an African Elder
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Date
2009
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Publisher
Tangaza University College
Abstract
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.
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Keywords
ELDERHOOD IN CHRISTIANITY, Ordination in the New Testament, Agikuyu elder