The role of the church in the birth and nurture of a new nation

Abstract

Bishop Mvume Dandala, in his inaugural lecture as honorary professor at the Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, describes the challenges awaiting the churches in the new South Africa. He does it by defending five theses: (1) It takes strong visionary leadership to lay foundations for reconciliation; (2) Ground base support and initiatives are critical for the success of reconciliation; (3) Social transformation, fairness and justice must be understood as an intrinsic fabric of reconciliation; (4) Reconciliation is not possible where the contending factions do not have a common understanding of the truth; (5) A healthy memory of the past is essential for a reconciled/reconciling future.