Master's Thesis from the year 2022 in the subject Theology - Practical Theology, grade: 70%, University of KwaZulu-Natal (College of Humanities / School of Religion, Philosphy & Classics), course: Theology and Development, language: English, abstract: This study is an appraisal of the pastoral response of the Roman Catholic Church to the socio-economic impact of the emerging pandemic in South Africa. Central to this study is the contribution that African liberation theology offers, with particular emphasis on the philosophy of Ujamaa and the theology of Ubuntu, in strengthening the pastoral response of the Roman Catholic Church to the socio-economic impact of the emerging Covid-19 pandemic in the country. The Covid-19 pandemic has created unprecedented socio-economic hardships globally. The austerities brought about by Covid-19 has affected all sectors of society. Religious, economic, and political sectors have felt the ordeal of the humanitarian crisis. The emergence of the pandemic in South Africa in March 2020 has had a huge socio-economic impact, mostly on the poor and the less privileged in society. The pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated pre-existing socio-economic inequalities in South Africa. These aggravated inequalities include corruption, unemployment, gender-based violence, and access to public healthcare. The methodology of See-Judge-Act is used in the study. The ‘see’ corresponds to the critical analysis of the socio-economic context of the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa. Conceptually, ‘judge’ uses the guiding categories of the philosophy of Ujamaa and the theology of Ubuntu to thematically analyse various pastoral documents published by the Roman Catholic Church in South Africa in its response to the emerging pandemic during the period March 2020 – March 2021. The ‘act’ elaborates the potential socially transformative actions from the principles of Ujamaa and Ubuntu that would render more effective the pastoral response of the Roman Catholic Church to the socio-economic impact of the continuing Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa.

This book provides an interdisciplinary exploration of the challenges faced by pastoral ministry in South African Pentecostalism as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as some interventions being made to manage these challenges. Contributors present descriptive approaches to churches’ reactions to lockdown measures, and especially the adaptations generated within Pentecostalism in South Africa. Through a variety of approaches—including pastoral care, virtual ecclesiology, social media, and missiology—contributors offer intervention techniques which can help readers to understand the unique role of Christian ministry during the pandemic, in South Africa and beyond.

This book investigates the role of religion in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Southern Africa. Building on a diverse range of methodologies and disciplinary approaches, the book reflects on how religion, politics and health have interfaced in Southern African contexts, when faced with the sudden public health emergency caused by the pandemic. Religious actors have played a key role on the frontline throughout the pandemic, sometimes posing roadblocks to public health messaging, but more often deploying their resources to help provide effective and timely responses. Drawing on case studies from African indigenous knowledge systems, Islam, Rastafari and various forms of Christianity, this book provides important reflections on the role of religion in crisis response. This book will be of interest to researchers across the fields of African Studies, Health, Politics and Religious Studies. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

The African Church and COVID-19: Human Security, the Church, and Society in Kenya is a bold and incisive look at the African Church in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout the book, contributors explore how the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fragilities of African society as well as the weaknesses in the Church’s role in helping and serving African communities. The African Church and COVID-19 analyzes the question of how the Church in Kenya should move forward in a post-COVID-19 era to address the vulnerabilities of socio-economic and political structures in Africa.

Theologische Studien zu bioethischen und medizinischen Fragestellungen vernachlässigen oft den Aspekt der Gesundheit der Bevölkerung(en). Andererseits hat die Covid-19-Pandemie das Ausmaß der Vernetzung zwischen Völkern und Nationen gezeigt. Trotz zahlreicher Studien zu den ethischen, sozialen und medizinischen Herausforderungen einer globalen Pandemie gibt es immer noch eine bemerkenswerte Lücke in der Reflexion über die Rolle der katholischen Kirche sowohl hinsichtlich der öffentlichen als auch der globalen Gesundheit. Die Beiträge geben Denkanstöße aus moraltheologischer, bioethischer und missionstheologischer Perspektive sowie aus der Sicht einer Gesundheitspastoral und eines sozialen Engagements der Kirche. Der Band erscheint in englischer Sprache.

Where is God in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic? This volume offers a variety of reflections from the perspectives of theology, scripture, philosophy, ethics, liturgy, pastoral, and canon law. The chapters are addressed to anyone seeking understanding, whatever the level of faith. The book will be helpful for those in parish ministry and interested laypersons, especially in the Irish context. Besides being valuable for personal reading, the volume is also a welcome resource for parish councils or small parish groups, because each chapter concludes with questions for reflection and discussion. This book seeks to offer the beginnings of a theological reflection that will doubtless take years to complete. Contributors to the volume include Tom Casey SJ, Anne Codd PBVM, Pádraig Corkery, Jeremy Corley, Philip Gonzales, Michael Hurley, Gaven Kerr, Nóirín Lynch, Michael Mullaney, Neil Xavier O’Donoghue, Kevin O’Gorman SMA, Noel O’Sullivan, Jessie Rogers, Salvador Ryan, and Michael Shortall. The volume also includes an interview on the pandemic originally given to the Tablet by Pope Francis.