Christophe Munzihirwa and Abundant Life in Africa: Witnessing to an African Theological Ethic

Why does ‘abundant life’ for all God’s people in Africa seem so elusive? Why is the story of Africa one of pain, suffering, violence, and death? Amidst the plunder and exploitation of Africa’s resources and the ongoing decimation of human and environmental lives, what difference can Christianity in Africa make in addressing the continent’s social crises? In analyzing the African predicament through the lens of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the continent’s minerally wealthy yet most despoiled country, this essay spotlights the life, ministry, and struggles of the slain Congolese archbishop Christophe Munzihirwa, SJ (1926–96). The article shows how Munzihirwa’s theological convictions and socio-pastoral praxis undergird his struggles for abundant life in his own country and among his own people. The essay argues that the struggle for abundant life is not merely a theological and pastoral necessity for the church in Africa but also a moral imperative. At the heart of this moral imperative is the invitation for Christian leaders and people in Africa to constructively engage the challenges facing the continent through discerning attentiveness to the signs of the times in their own specific situations and contexts.