Dr George Sombe Mukuka, author
The view which is generally held among South African Catholic historians is that the first black priests and the first African bishop in South Africa, had tremendous trouble settling down after their ordination and consecration because Africans were not yet ready to be priests and bishops. There is however another perspective which could explain the difficulties and misunderstandings that surrounded those concerned. This view is drawn from disciplines of geography, social politics and anthropology. By geography, I mean that the early missionaries who came from Europe firmly believed that the West was far superior to the non-Western regions. Social history, politics and anthropology indicate that, consciously or unconsciously, the missionaries believed they were more powerful with regard to education, religion, and military matters than the indigenous people in mission territories, and for this reason tried to impose their world-view on the new converts. They were doing this sincerely because they wanted the converts to be saved from hell and attain eternal life. Using archival and oral history, this book unravels the geographical, social and anthropological environment in which the first black priests and bishop lived and worked.
Reviews
Click here to read Muchugu Kiiru, University of Nairobi review
Click here to read a review by Journal of The Church History Society of Southern Africa
Click here to read a review by Dr Michael van Heerden, President St Augustine College of South Africa
Click here to read a review by Raymond M. Mwangala OMI, St. Joseph’s Theological Institute
Click here to read a review by The Jesuit Institute South Africa
Click here to read Anthony Egan, S.J. review article
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The Other Side of the Story
