The voices of women can help the Church embrace its synodal identity.
Christian Kombe, SJ, and Camille Mukoso, SJ – Nairobi.
"The voices of women can help the Church rediscover its true face and embrace its synodal identity: one, holy, catholic, and apostolic." The affirmation was made by Father Jose Minaku, during the opening session of the conference on African Women Theologians and Synodality taking place in Nairobi, Kenya.
Addressing the opening session, Fr Minaku, President of the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar (JCAM), spoke about the importance of the voices of women theologians and women in general, with the Church.
Women and the Catholicity of the Church
These voices have a special place, said Fr Minaku. They "give a particular tone to the unity of the Church, rich in its diversity," he said. He added that these voices reinforce the Church’s holiness through the testimonies of women. Further still, the voices also express and amplify the "catholicity of the Church, which is not restrictive by nature but open and all embracing," Father Minaku reiterated.
Thus, for the Church to fully benefit from this precious and unique contribution, it is necessary to work towards systematically including the voices of women within its fold.
Fr Minaku quoted Ghanaian theologian, Mercy Amba Oduyoye who suggests that the process of including the voices of women should not be limited to the work of professional theologians but should also include those whose "oral theology is embedded in their prayers, the songs they compose and sing, the artefacts they create, name, and dedicate."
Kimpa Vita, a precursor of synodality
Jesuit priest, Fr Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator and Sister Léocadie Lushombo, from Santa Clara University (California), Dean and Professor respectively, at the faculty of theology presented the figure of Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita (1684-1706). From the ancient Kingdom of Kongo, Kimpa emerges as a precursor of theological discourse in favour of a synodal Church and the inculturation of faith.
Therefore, by speaking at the synodal table of the Church, today's African women theologians are part of a long tradition of women who have promoted a more synodal and inculturated vision of the Church.
Born in 1684 in the Kingdom of Kongo, Kimpa was baptised Dona Beatrice by the missionaries. Her life is often seen as an example of early resistance to the colonisation of Africa by Europeans in the seventeenth century.
Burnt alive for her movement, which advocated for the restoration of the Kongo Kingdom and an Africanization of Christianity, the woman nicknamed the "Kongolese Joan of Arc" is an example of the African woman whose contribution remains decisive and inspiring for reflection against various forms of domination and for a more inclusive and inculturated Church, Fr Orobator and Sister Lushombo explained.
Synodality, another way of being Church
Synodality leads us into the heart of a spiritual journey where the Church, as a community of faith on the move, guided by the Spirit, is engaged in a dynamic of mutual listening and discernment to address the pastoral and social challenges of our time.
The Senegalese nun, Sister Anne-Beatrice Faye, who participated, at the synod secretariat as an expert and facilitator, shared her experience of the October 2023 synodal process and assembly. The member of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of Castres, highlighted the inclusive and participatory nature of the path towards a constantly evolving Church. In this journey, she said, all members of the people of God have a role to play in imbuing the synodal spirit in every aspect of ecclesial life.
According to Sister Faye, the lessons drawn from the synodal process reveal "another way of being Church" anchored in listening, communion, and constant pursuit of the God’s will.
In this particular aspect, the synodal process is therefore a Kairos for the expression of the voices of women and women African theologians.
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