Vatican II and the African Struggle for Justice (GS 63-72): An Historical Study of the Contribution of the African Bishops to "Gaudium et Spes" and its Reception in Africa (Dioceses of Awka and Yaounde)

World poverty was one of the social questions that the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) took very close to heart. The Council Fathers, in the Pastoral Constitution “Gaudium et Spes” (GS), gave extensive thought to this injustice and proposed some principles that should form the basis for promoting greater justice and equity in the socio-economic life of people and among nations. Despite important awareness-raising and praxis-oriented initiatives such as “Justitia et Pax” (1967) which was created “to stimulate the Catholic Community to foster progress in needy regions and social justice on the international scene” (GS 90), poverty on the African continent has remained endemic. Using literary and archival sources alongside oral history, this research aims (1) to interpret these conciliar principles in order (2) to map out how the post-conciliar Roman Catholic Church in Africa has worked to find solutions to the challenges of poverty and underdevelopment, which initiatives have worked, and which have failed. The Church profiles herself in Africa as an institution that is on the side of the poor. This research will examine how the Church in Africa understood the social mandate she received at Vatican II and how she has attempted to make it an integral part of her social apostolate. This historical project will thus provide the basis for the generation of insights that will help to enhance the Church’s commitment to social transformation and integral development in Africa.