Suchergebnisse

The Zimbabwean Catholic Bishops' Conference issued a pastoral letter on 14 August 2020. Its title, "The March is not Ended", echoed the words of the late American civil right activist and politician John Robert Lewis. In the introduction, the bishops reminded their fellow citizens that "Peace building and nation-building are never completed tasks. Every generation has to establish national cohesion and peace". In using the biblical text from Micah 7:1–6 where the prophet denounced corruption and oppression in his own days, the bishops took a swipe at Zimbabwean political leaders. African politicians never take responsibility for their misrule of the continent, which has kept Africa largely underdeveloped. The perplexity of the situation in Zimbabwe is reflective of similar situations in other parts of sub-Saharan Africa where leaders look the other way and shift blames. This research undertakes to explore how the Catholic Church in Africa has fared in its prophetic mission in relation to the political-cum-socioeconomic questions on the continent. It will acknowledge instances where the Church, through certain prelates, has proven itself to be a moral conscience. It will also indicate how the efforts of African bishops closely align with those of Pope Francis in relation to the prophetic mission of the Church as a defender of truth, human rights and social justice. Contribution: Africans, like most people in the world, have a very simple vision of the good life: to live in reasonable material comfort and in peace. This research is essentially anchored within Catholic social teaching. It underscores how the Catholic Church in Africa has defended and continues to uphold the rights of the people to actualize their aspiration of a simple good life in a hostile and self-serving African political and socioeconomic context. It notes that the Church cannot take the place of political leaders because its role is basically the promotion of the common good, which includes public order and peace, development, equality, justice and solidarity.

Swedish community radio started in 1979 and was the first type of broadcast to be organised outside of the public service monopoly that had been in operation since 1924. This article unveils some of the aspects of the history of Swedish community radio. Through analysis of first-hand sources from the period between 1979 and 1985, the article sheds new light on the history of Swedish community radio by using the archives from the parliamentary committee setting up community radio, public inquiries, parliamentary minutes and other sources of political discourse The analysis shows that religious interests, and especially the free churches and the Pentecostal movement, played an important role for establishing community radio. The connections between the religious field and the political field in Sweden were manifold and strong in relation to the development of community broadcasting, which also had a marked effect on how the reform was designed and how it played out. During the early years of community radio, churches dominated the broadcasts, in some cities being responsible for as much as 100% of the content produced. Hence, this article sheds light on a yet untold story of Swedish media history and shows how the interests of religious organisations can be a driving force in the development of media policy and a driver of media change. It also shows that the community broadcasting reform was a catalyst within Swedish Christianity for starting to work systematically with technologies and issues related to the developing media saturated society.