Abstract

The central mission of the Christian Church is bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to all those who are in need of it. This Good News consists essentially of two parts namely the Person of Jesus Christ Himself and His redemptive work. The redemptive work of Jesus is carried out with the view not only to the future but also the present. As a present reality, the redemptive work of Jesus involved liberating and equipping the people for the establishment of God’s Kingdom right here on earth. It was within this context that Jesus embarked on healing, teaching, and confrontation with the Jewish authorities whenever he saw their actions as contradicting the Kingdom of God. The Roman Catholic Church has been very conscious of the two sided view of the Good News. This consciousness has been manifested in her ministry throughout the ages and her calling of the faithful through official documents, Councils and Synods to ensure that they faithfully integrate the two sides of the Good News to the poor. This is the recent call for the African Synod. Now if Zomba Diocese is to remain faithful to the central mission entrusted to it by Jesus Christ, and pointed out at the African Synod, it must commit itself to the liberation of people from any form of suffering, be it physical, intellectual, economic or political. The starting point for Zomba Diocese, in preparation for the future, is a look at the past. How has the Diocese been committed to bringing Good News to the people? Which areas did the Diocese focus on? What understanding was attached to all those areas in which the Diocese was committed to eliminating human suffering? What challenges are there for the Diocese today if it is to remain faithful to her mission of evangelisation? These questions have led me into the social teaching of the Roman Catholic Church from 1891 to the present and the views of other scholars on Development as Evangelisation and whatever has been written as regards the work of the Diocese in development, and what understanding has been attached to it from 1901 to the present. Alongside the library work has been the field work in order to find out what the Diocese is actually doing today in development and what understanding she attaches to her work. Focal areas in this respect have been health, education, economics and politics. vii A look at the social teaching of the Roman Catholic Church from 1891 till the present shows a growing understanding as to the place of development within the whole mission of evangelisation of the Roman Catholic Church. From as early as 1891 up until the 1950s, the social teaching of the Church has recommended and called for the elimination of human suffering in the world. In this respect her message was mainly about economics and social relations, but it left aside political issues. In economics and social relations, the Roman Catholic Church called for the direct intervention of the Christians in these affairs in order to eliminate human suffering. From the 1960s onwards, there is no area that has been left out as no- go area for the Roman Catholic Church in bringing the Good News that is going to liberate the people from their hardships. Others have described this as a transition period for the Roman Catholic Church from seclusion to the direct involvement in the affairs of the world. It is in this period that elimination of human suffering has not just been recommended but has been mentioned as integral to evangelisation. Thus evangelisation is rendered incomplete if it puts aside the redemptive work of Jesus which included healing, teaching, and direct intervention in the economic and political life of the people when their lives were threatened by systems of exploitation, oppression and domination.The early missionaries to Zomba Diocese, originally part of Shire Vicariate from 1901 till 1952, saw development or elimination of human suffering as something good but not integral to evangelisation. Their understanding of evangelisation was limited to the proclamation of the Person of Jesus Christ, while putting aside the redemptive work. The clergy of today, despite the developments in theological thinking and the social teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, still suffer hangover from the perception of the early missionaries on development as evangelisation. The African Synod was an opportune time for Zomba Diocese to get rid of her hangover and equip herself for evangelisation. This research, which is focused on Zomba Diocese, is an accompaniment to the efforts of the Diocese to equip herself for future evangelisation. The recommendations made are not exhaustive, but I am sure they would supplement whatever will come up from the Development Committee that the Diocese has set up to this effect.

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School	: School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Issued Date	: 2009

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