There is no more urgent theological task than to provide an account of hope in Africa, given its endless cycles of violence, war, poverty, and displacement. So claims Emmanuel Katongole, an innovative theological voice from Africa. In the midst of suffering, Katongole says, hope takes the form of "arguing" and "wrestling" with God. Such lament is not merely a cry of pain—it is a way of mourning, protesting, and appealing to God. As he unpacks the rich theological and social dimensions of the practice of lament in Africa, Katongole tells the stories of courageous Christian activists working for change in East Africa and invites readers to enter into lament along with them.

This book engages the theology of Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI in dialogue with African Catholic theological concerns and challenges. After an Introduction by Matthew Levering arguing that African Catholic theology is an important resource for the whole Church, the book contains ten chapters by African and non-African Catholic theologians. Paulinus Odozor investigates whether and, if so, how the God of Jesus Christ stands in continuity with the God known to African Traditional Religions. Paul Ọlatubọsun Adaja addresses faith and reason in light of the current African anthropological crisis. Tegha Nji and Valery Akoh connect Ratzinger's idea of "pro-existence" with traditional African understandings of solidarity. Jacob Phillips compares the theologies of Robert Cardinal Sarah and Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI. Dennis Kasule examines the requirements of a New Evangelization for Africa, in light of the case of Uganda. Joseph Lugalambi proposes that the Catholic liturgies of Africa are in need of reform. Mary-Reginald N. Anibueze explores the Eucharist as a socio-communitarian event. Emery de Gaal reflects upon Ratzinger/Benedict's theology of inculturation. Joseph Ogbonnaya treats Caritas in Veritate with a focus upon the case of Nigeria. Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai meditates upon Ratzinger's understanding of political power.

"A disciplinary map for understanding African Catholicism today by engaging some of the most pressing and pertinent issues, topics, and conversations in diverse fields of studies in African Catholicism"--

It is in honour of the silver jubilee of Most Rev. Anthony J. V. Obinna’s episcopacy that this book is put together in this first volume titled Emerging Conversations on Theofiliation: Essays in Honour of Archbishop Anthony J. V. Obinna. This volume discusses and enlarges insights inherent in Archbishop Obinna’s theological thinking on theofiliation. Therefore, the contributors to this volume critically examine his idea of theofiliation from their areas of speciality as a further exploration of this theological term. The willingness of the contributors has resulted in a collection that envisage the eclectic and heterogeneous scholarly vision of its honouree. Besides, the contributors to this maiden edition encompass both illustrious theologians and promising researchers in theology, philosophy, psychology, and management. The themes discussed by the contributors are grouped into biblical/comparative study, systematic/pastoral, ethical/management, philosophical/political, and anthropological issues. The enriching and diverse collections of this volume have five thematic sections of nineteen chapters that theofiliation brings together. “This Festschrift in honour of Amarachi Obinna is a compendium of usable knowledge. The authors have dealt with various themes largely inspired by the theology and practice of the archbishop. This conviction leads to the reflections on theofiliation, the reinGodment of all creation. The Festschrift is truly a treasure” (Prof. John Obilor, Imo State University Owerri). “This book is an insightful reading which will serve as an inspirational theological wellspring for emerging scholars engaged in articulating a robust African contextual theology to which it breathes fresh air. The spirit of dynamism in Archbishop Obinna’s novel brainchild of theofiliation is manifested in its applicability to wide-ranging academic disciplines” (William Odeke Owire, KU Leuven).

The story of Africa is a ghost story with two plots. One is foreign or imported and the other indigenous or local. The foreign plot has its origin in colonial history. The indigenous plot is African in origin. But both plots end in the same place: African trauma and culture complex. These narratives create in modern Africa a splintered consciousness and the political and economic conditions that lead to physical and psychological violence. Unmasking the African Ghost is both a theological exploration of the reasons the political and economic systems in African countries have failed and a proposal for the paths toward recovery, anchored in the belief that Africa is a continent continuously trying to redefine its identity in the face of Eurocentrism. For the church in Africa to be a church at the service of its people, theology in Africa must take misery and oppression as the context for its reflections and its reconstruction of the social order. An African solution to African problems must be able to meet the needs of the time. It must look to the African past to draw from its riches--particularly the African sociopolitical ethic of ubuntu. It must also look ahead and draw from the best available sociopolitical system of modern states: liberal democracy. A hybrid of these two yields ubuntucracy. Ubuntucracy removes the ghosts of both Africa and its Western colonizers and begins a new story that can help Africa survive its double bind.