Woman as Mother and Wife in the African Context of the Family in the Light of John Paul II’s Anthropological and Theological Foundation

About the Book

This study examines the theological and anthropological foundations of the understanding of the dignity and vocation of woman as a mother and wife, gifts given by God that expresses the riches of the African concept of family. There are two approaches to inculturation theology in Africa, namely, that which attempts to construct African theology by starting from the biblical ecclesial teachings and find from them what features of African culture are relevant to the Christian theological and anthropological values, and the other one which takes the African cultural background as the point of departure. According to John Paul II, the dignity and vocation of woman is “something more universal, based on the very fact of her being a woman within all the interpersonal relationships, which, in the most varied ways, shape society and structure the interaction between all persons,” (Mulieris Dignitatem no. 29). This “concerns each and every woman, independent of the cultural context in which she lives and independently of her spiritual, psychological and physical characteristics, as for example, age, education, health, work, and whether she is married or single,” (Mulieris Dignitatem, no. 29). The theology of inculturation as presented in this dissertation opens the way for the integration of the theological anthropological teachings of John Paul II in understanding African woman as mother and wife.

About the Author

Joseph Okech Adhunga was born and raised in Siaya County, Kenya. After completing primary education at Obambo School, he joined a high school of the Apostles of Jesus, Kiserian minor seminary in Kajiado County near Nairobi. He then proceeded to the Apostles of Jesus formation house and upon finishing, continued to their Institute for Philosophy where he earned B. A. in Philosophy in 1988, and then he joined the major seminary for theological and religious studies. He was ordained in 1992. After ordination, Fr. Adhunga was sent to Mombasa Archdiocese in Kenya, where he served in different capacities, namely: parochial vicar, pastor, vocation director of the Archdiocese, personal Secretary to the Archbishop of Mombasa and built St. Steven’s Catholic Parish among others. In 1992, Fr. Adhunga earned B.S.T., (Bachelors of Sacred Theology), from Urbanian University in Rome, Italy. In 2000, he earned S.T.L., Pastoral Theology at the University of Malta, and wrote a dissertation on the African Traditional Family Life Confronted with the Christian Vision of Marriage. In 2006, he earned another S.T.L., Moral Theology at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family at the Catholic University of America, Washington, D. C., USA. His dissertation was on the Woman as Wife and Mother: John Paul II’s Anthropological and Theological Foundation in the African Context of Family. Fr. Adhunga joined the Catholic University of America in 2006 in the School of Theological and Religious Studies to pursue S.T.D., degree. While pursuing his theological studies at the Catholic University of America, Fr. Adhunga has served as parochial vicar in the Diocese of Arlington, St Raymond Catholic Church and Holy Family Catholic Church in the Archdioceses of New York. Upon his completion he served at New York Medical University Center as a Chaplain and Consultant on Ethical and Medical issues. At present, he is serving at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Parish in Los Angeles in California, United State of America.