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Maria Legio a Catholic Breakaway Church

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Maria Legio a Catholic Breakaway Church , TANGAZA COLLEGE THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN AFRICA MARIA LEGIO A CATHOLIC BREAKAWAY CHURCH PRESENTED BY: SYLVESTER KANSIMBI, CSSp. MODERATOR: FR. AYLWARD SHORTER, M. Afr. This is a Long Essay Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies FEBRUARY) 2001 NAIROBI-KENYA _ STUDENT'S DECLARATION I hereby declare that the material used here in has not been submitted for any academic credit to any other institution. All sources have been cited in full. • C 4 Signed: Qsw Kcttki-,ILL b; Date: lit tot (MO' ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The undertaking of this essay could not have been possible without the assistance rendered to me by my confreres, friends and many other people. To all of them, I feel indebted, and I would like to express my sincere gratitude. First, I would like to thank my moderator, Fr. Aylward Shorter (M.Afr) who despite his heavy and tight programme accepted to guide me in this research work. I am grateful to him for his interest not only in the area of my topic but to me as a person for his concern, guidance, encouragement and patience in reading, correcting, re- reading this work in spite of his various occupations. I am very thankful again for the support I got from my Spiritan Confreres both here East Africa and those from my Foundation: South Central African Foundation (SCAF). I am very thankful for their support during my entire formation period. Again I should express my sincere thanks to the following people for their dedication and willingness to help me: Fr. Charles Odeny (CSSp), Fr. Albert de Jong, CSSp, Sr. Mary Kerber (Notre Dome), Sr. Gertrude Chipungu (Medical Mission), John Louis Dimba, Noel Gama, Vincent Moba, Evans Chizyibwa, Enuny Gichinga and Mr. Sakwa Maurice (Tangaza College). And finally, I wish to thank all the Maria Legio members whom I have come to contact through my research work. I have learnt a lot from them and I believe that A their authentic African values can help to enrich the Church in becoming more genuinely African as well as universally Catholic. 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS Student's Declaration Acknowledgement Table of Contents iii INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ONE: THE BIRTH OF THE MOVEMENT 3 1.1.0. Background 3 1.1.1. Political Situation 3 1.1.2. Religious Situation 5 1.1 .3. Socio- Economic Situation 8 1.2.0. The Founders of the Movement 9 1.2.1. Simeo Ondeto 9 1.2.2. Gaudencia Aoko 10 1.3.0. Factors Influencing the Origin and Growth of the Movement 11 1.3.1. Western impact 12 1.3.2. Missionary Influence 13 1.4.0. Catholic Scene 15 1.4.1. Marian Devotions 15 1.4.2. The Legion Of Mary 15 1.4.3. Kadem Situation 16 1.4.4. The Nature and Attractions of Maria Le2io 16 1.4.5. Summary 20 CHAPTER TWO: THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION 21 • 2.1.0. Doctrine and Teachings of the Maria Legio 21 2.1.1. The Notion Of Trinity 22 2.1.2. God The Father 22 2.1.3. Christology 22 2.1.4. Pneumatology 24 2.2.0. The Sacraments 24 2.2.1. Baptism 25 2.2.2. Confirmation.. 27 2.2.3. Communion 27 2.2.4. Marriage 28 . 2.2.5. Ordination 29 2.3.0. Ecclesiology 29 2.3.1. The Celebration Of Mass 30. 2.3.2. The Bible 31 2.3.3. Major Activities in the Maria Legio 32 2.3.4. Spirit Possession 32 2.3.5. Prayer 33 2.3.6. The Role Of Mary 35 2.3.7. Eschatology 35 2.3.8. Summary 36 CHAPTER THREE: EVALUATION 38 3.1.0. Introduction 38 3.1.1 Elements of the African Relevance in the Maria Legio Church 38 3.1.2. Social Integration 40 3.1.3. Wealcnesses of the Maria Legio Church 41 3.1.4. The future of the Maria Legio Church 44 3.1.5. Maria Legio as a Pastoral Challenge 46 3.1.6. Sense of community 47 3.1.7. Formation and Ongoing Formation 48 3.1.8. Cultural Identity 49 3.1.9. Summary 49 CONCLUSION 51 BIBLIOGRAPHY 53 iv INTRODUCTION In the continent where Christianity is experiencing its most rapid growth, a great deal of this expansion is taking place in the African Independent Churches. Turner defines these Churches 2 as having, been founded in Africa, by Africans and primarily for Afr cans. A primary characteristic of the African Independent Churches is their commitment to the adaptation of the gospel to African needs, life-view and style-3 Their attractiveness grows out of their serious attempt to make and express their faith in genuinely African cultural forms and styles. In our research work. We are going to focus our attention on the Maria Legio Church of Kenya. This is the breakaway movement from the Catholic Church which originated among the Luo of South Nyanza around two colourful people: Simeo Ondeto and Gaudencia Aoko. The movement affirms people in their context and answers their needs by creating a truly African haven of belonging.4 This movement has emerged as the largest African Independent Church to have broken from Catholicism in Africa.5 It is an off shoot of the Legion of Mary, a Catholic lay organisation from Ireland, which was established in Kenya in 1936 by Edel Quinn The Maria Legio are widespread in the regions of Eastern Africa, though mainly among the Luo or people which have affinity with Luo.6 Because of the predominance of Luo leadership, culture and 'John S. Pobee and Gabriel Ositelu 11 African Initiatives in Christianity with forward by Walter Hollenweger (Geneva: WCC Publications, 1998), p.76. 2 Harold Turner, "A Typology of African Religious Movements." Journal of Religion in Africa, 1(1967): p.17. 'Walter Hollenweger, "forward" in: Pobee and Ositelu 11, Initiatives. p.3. °Inus Dance]. Quest for Belonging (Gwent: Mambo Press, 1987), p.I8. 5Scon Moreau and James Kombo, "An introduction to the Legio Maria," African Journal for Evangelical Theology (AJET) 10.1 (1991): p.10. 'Moreau and Kombo, Maria Legio. p.10. customs, it seems unlikely that the Maria Legio will gain significant numbers of non-Luo members in the future.' Our research will briefly take a glance at the context of the birth of the movement, its theological teaching and doctrine and finally our evaluation of its concept of the Church. The main source of our research is the work by: Peter Dirven, Maria Legio: The Dynamics of a Breakaway Church among the Luo in Past Africa, Ph.D. Dissertation, Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, 1970. 'Peter Dirven, Maria Legio: The Dynamics of a Breakaway Church among the Luo in East Africa Ph.D. Dissertation: (Rome: Pontifical University Gregorian, 1970), p.200. 2 CHAPTER ONE: THE BIRTH OF THE MOVEMENT 1.1.0. BACKGROUND A movement like the Maria LeUi0 Church is born out of a concrete situation and context marked out and linked to some political, religious and social economic circumstances. It is with this in mind that we shall start our research by giving the background that helped to occasion the rise of this particular movement among the I,uo of South Nyanza in Western Kenya. 1.1.1. POLITICAL SITUATION The interior of Kenya remained isolated till the 19th centurywhen the Mombasa/Kisumu railway was bunts In contrast to this, the Coastal Region was occupied by the Arab colonisers who had settled there around 8th century AD. The influence of these Arabs continued till the end of the 19th century except for a 200 year period of the Portuguese domination in the 16th and 17th centuries. Britain became actively involved in the humanitarian situation of the territory in the 19th century through combating the slave trade.9 Political and economic interest was aroused in Kenya through the new information sent by the missionaries namely Johann Ludwig ICrapf, and Johann Rebmann, as well as Joseph Thomson, the first explorer in Kenya. In 1886, an agreement with Germany brought the territory into the British influence. Later in 1895, Kenya 10 was declared a British Protectorate and in 1920 it became the colony of Kenya. The Colonial Government's aim was to make Kenya a "white man's" land thereby making the Africans s Albert de Jong, Mission and Politics in Eastern Africa 1945-1965 (Nairobi: Paulines Publications Africa, 2000), p.49. 4De Jong Mission p.49. le De Jong, Mission, p.49. 3 labourers on the estates, plantations and farms of the white man and alienating parts of the most fertile land from Africans. In reaction to these oppressive and discriminatory measures, the Africans started setting up social political organisations. These organisations were aimed at protecting their interests and bringing about reform in the Colonial Government. The most influential of these organisations was the Kikuyu Central Association whose leader was Jomo Kenyatta. Realising this, the Colonial Government, fearing the outbreak of violence, banned all political organisations in 1940. Later, after the Second World War in 1946, the Kenya African Union was formed and Kenyatta became its leader despite the ban. This party (Kenya African Union) was soon transformed into a peoples' political movement. In 1952, a state of emergency caused by the Mau Mau movement was declared until 1960. Mau Mau movement was mainly a movement to liberate Kenya from its colonisers and retrieve the alienated lands. Jomo Kenyatta was accused of being involved with the Mau Mau. In 1953 he and others were imprisoned (21 October). While Jomo Kenyatta was in prison at Lodwar, ICANU (Kenya African National Union) was founded in 1963.
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