The Salvatorian Institute of Philosophy and Theology strives to immerse itself in the life of the local church in various ways "by promoting the work of inculturation, by publishing books and by publicizing Catholic truth, by contributing to a scientific study of culture and the Christian faith" (Ecclesia in Africa, 103). The Institute's aim, to borrow the words of John Paul II, is "to form future priests in the true cultural values" of Africa, "in a sense of honesty, responsibility and integrity" (Ecclesia in Africa, 95) so that they may "have the qualities of the representatives of Christ, of true servants and animators of Christian Community" (RM, 52). Inculturation should be integrated with Evangelization. As John Paul II said, "Inculturation of the Church in any new culture does not mean a betrayal but [is] a requirement of Evangelization."(RM, 1). And it is "an incubation of the Christian mystery in the genius of a people."¹

The Religious of the 21st Century in Tanzania have a special task of inculturating the Gospel with all of its theological, sociological, psychological, cultural and pastoral aspects into the African environment. It is to this and that the Salvatorian Institute for Religious at Morogoro was established. What is expected of Religious in Tanzania in the 21st century was expressed by Rev. Method Kilaini at present Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Dar es Salaam at the Salvatorian, Institute on 11 October 2000² as follows:

A Religious should be a bridge between different cultures, peoples and geographical places. The Religious communities in Tanzania give the Religious chance to mix other nationalities and peoples. The Religious houses must be good and effective research centres and agents of integration of different cultures. While Tanzania must retain its rich cultural heritage she cannot remain an island but must open up positively to the world.

Increasingly the Tanzanian Religious must go out to the world as missionary envoys and ambassadors of the Good News with the Tanzanian touch. Do not get stuck here but go out to the world. Take the Christ of yesterday, today and forever with an African and a Tanzanian face in particular. History has proved that any Religious Order/Congregation that does not evangelise dies. Being missionary is the life of a Religious Order (RM, 69). The time has come to make a contribution, it is the kairos.

Each Religious Order has a special charism which gives it special witness. This charism should not be only for internal sanctification but also for a mission to others. We do not have general Religious as one may have general doctors. We must have specialised Religious not only internally, but also their external performance must show that specialisation. In the post-modem world of science and technology we no longer have Galileos who were specialised in all fields. In the church also we need experts to cater for the different needs of our society and of the church as the family of God, especially when we are called upon to answer to special needs, e.g. AIDS victims, peace and reconciliation, education, health, special chaplains, etc. The Religious should be in the front line to supply personnel. The Religious is the best fitted for that.

The establishment, work and efforts of the Salvatorian Institute of Philosophy and Theology hopes to fulfill such expectations by involvement of the institution with the implementation these purposes in the daily life of the people and Institute. Therefore, "The Church in Tanzania is equally grateful to all the Religious Congregations and Societies who chose to join the Salvatorians in the task of establishing this Institute. For the Salvatorians to stand alone, like the beloved disciple, in this task would be over-demanding. This Institute has given status to the Church in Tanzania. Rather than looking always to Kenya or other countries for the academic formation of the Religious, Kola in Tanzania has created another equally good alternative."³

The Philosophical section of this issue presents some interesting topics concerning Teaching and Studying Philosophy in Africa or looking for answers to the question: Sub-Saharan Africa: Can it survive in the WTO? or providing an introduction the problem of Ethical and Socio-political Influences from Epicureism in Primitive Christianity and at the end is the first part of an article which consists three parts, the second and third of which will be published in the near future: Is a Physical Theory of Everything Possible?

Rev. Jason Ishengoma Katabaro CSSp in his article titled Teaching and Studying Philosophy in Africa observes the formal education process in Africa has shown that it is a process of foreignisation: Those who go to school do not easily fit into the society they left behind. The rural dwellers enter urban centres, the graduants go to the Western World and they don't go back to their villages. The more one is "educated" the farther one moves from his homeland. In this article we tried to show how philosophy is taught as a tool of the foreignisation process. We argue that this process could be stopped if Philosophy is taken as a process of moving from oneself and coming back to that self with a view to moving to the future. Studying European Philosophy can help one to enter into his own world, provided that it is taught not as a lesson to be memorised but as a process of interpretation. This can help an African student to come back to his own "village" with tools of analysis and reflection that can make him question his very own self and the other. This can help to bring to an end the reigning fatalistic attitude in Africa (the "shauri-ya-mungu"/"bahati-mbaya" mentality) and enable one to take responsibility for one`s actions. In this way we can be able to make history in its true philosophical sense.

In the discourse There's no Place Like Lomé: Why Sub-Saharan Africa Cannot Survive in the WTO, Dr Eric Boos makes the following observation concerning the global economy and the trade agreement under the auspices of the World Trade Organization: "Trade relations between the US and the EU in recent years have shaped the global economy in ways that are not in the best interest of many developing nations-primarily those in sub-Saharan Africa…These trade initiatives pursue all future trade agreements under the auspices of the World Trade Organization in concert with liberalized global trade. The central contention of this paper is that sub-Saharan Africa is not in a position to benefit from liberalized trade with the EU or the US…This paper argues that in spite of the circumstances, the EU should preserve the general principles of Lomé: that trade agreements with sub-Saharan African nations should provide for differentiated reciprocity (as opposed to strict reciprocity) and that trade agreements with sub-Saharan African nations should include complementary development assistance. The EU and the US should work collaboratively (under the WTO and with the World Bank and United Nations Development Programme) to reduce the international debt of sub-Saharan Africa, give special attention to the sensitive nature of agricultural trade, protect infant industries to help build economies of scale, use grants to help build the much needed infrastructure and support entrepreneurs (especially women), and find more creative ways to combat political corruption."⁴

Rev. Dr. Javier Antolin Sanchez OSA in his article Ethical and Socio-political Influences from Epicureism in Primitive Christianity shows why Christianity should not off-handedly reject Epicureanism. His article establishes the fact that these two schools of thought (and consequent ways of life) are not incommensurable-as has been purported. Instead they share a common ground with similar views of salvation, friendship, and philosophy of life, namely to attain happiness.

Rev. Kazimierz Kubat SDS poses an interesting philosophical question: Is a Physical Theory of Everything Possible? His article describes the various efforts which have been made in philosophy, religion and science, to come up with a "Theory of Everything". Our minds instinctively seek to unify, organize and explain our view of the universe and all things in it in simple and clear terms. A Theory of Everything seeks a simple formula, a set of basic principles, a single vision which encompasses everything. His article summarizes some of these attempts and outlines the history of such attempts especially in philosophy and science. The second and final part of his reflections (to be published later) will continue the theme with a consideration of some additional contemporary scientific and cosmological "Theories of Everything".

The section on Theology & Culture takes up the following topics:

Contemporary Theological Research on the Resurrection of Jesus, Ministerial Priesthood as a Gift for Priestly Identity, the Dilemma of Divorce in the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinus, and finally the Second Scramble for Land in Africa.

Rev. Dr. Feliks Sciborski his Contemporary Theological Research on the Resurrection of Jesus observes: From 1950 to present, Protestant and Roman Catholic theologies have opened themselves in new ways to the theological depths of the resurrection. The bibliography is enormous - about 3000 scientific titles! His article indicates the main lines of the theological research on the resurrection of Jesus and the contemporary methodological approaches that deal with the multidimensionality of the resurrection.

Rev. Dr. Czeslaw Noworolnik in his reflection Ministerial Priesthood as a Gift - An Important and Maybe Forgotten Element of Priestly Identity draws attention to that special element of priestly identity founded on the supernatural structure of the Church. Awareness of this element of priestly identity enables us to perceive more easily that the ministerial priesthood is a "grace", a "gift" of the Founder of the Church for both the entire Church and each priest personally. The author shows in which way the notion of grace-gift, founded on the loving activity of God for salvation of humankind which is fulfilled by Jesus Christ helps us to understand the reasons for priestly vocation and mission. This particular aspect of the identity of priest understood as a gift for the Church and also a personal gift for every priest called by God and engaged in the mission of salvation shows us the ministerial priesthood as the reality included in the dialog of love between God and humankind and between God and each individual person called to ministerial priesthood. The article builds upon the recent teaching of the Magisterium of the Church with references to the theological literature regarding ministerial priesthood.

Dr. Eric Boos in his article The Dilemma of Divorce notes: Divorce has always been a particular problem for the Catholic Church. Those outside of the Church, and even some inside the Church, have seen the Church's position on divorce as uncompromising and untenable. The general perception is that the Church's position is an irrational attempt to protect an archaic theological construct. While it is true that, given the sanctity of the sacrament of marriage, divorce has always been seen as a "last resort," it is not true that the Church's theological presuppositions are overtly dogmatic. Case in point, St. Thomas Aquinas' treatment of divorce shows that the Church's position is flexible, realistic and practical. This particular treatment of divorce can be used as a means of rebutting the claim that the Church is predisposed to dogmatic assertions aimed at protecting tradition for the sake of maintaining continuity in doctrine. St. Thomas' treatment of the issue also shows that his entire theory of natural law is equally flexible, realistic and practical. This rebuts the claim of the legal positivists that St. Thomas' natural law theory is heavily dependent upon rigid, dogmatic, doctrinal metaphysics. More specifically, St. Thomas' treatment of divorce shows H.L.A. Hart's opinion of St. Thomas to be clearly misguided.

Rev. Dr. Aquiline Tarimo, S.J., in his work: The Second Scramble for Land in Africa shows us that "the issue of land is crucial because it is from it that the majority derive their livelihood….This essay, while not intending to examine every aspect related to land problems, explores the causes leading to the lack of common land law and its implications. Its scope creates awareness, challenges legal thinkers, and reveals reasons that make the post-independent leadership evade land reforms and prevent the possibilities of overcoming such a stalemate. An answer to this challenge could expose the game of competitive politics within a variety of interest groups and shed some light on how to address land-related problems constructively….[His reflection] begins by spelling out the sacredness of land. Such a theological starting point provides a foundation upon which the meaning of land is anchored. In tracing the origin of the existing inequalities in land distribution, examination of the customary law and rights of inheritance becomes indispensable. Problems revealed here seem to be compounded with the conflict between customary law and statute law, and the privatization and commercialization of land. In search for an adequate response, the essay ends with suggestions of land reform."⁵

And finally acknowledgement should be expressed to those who dedicated themselves to make this issue possible. I appreciate in a special way the assistance and help which I have received from the Editorial Board (Fr. Bartholomew Murphy SJ, Mr. Victor Badibanga Bin Kapela, Mr. Samuel Halbur) and as the Editorial Advisors for this issue: (Fr. Bartholomew Murphy SJ, Mr. Eric Boos, Fr Brian Cronin, CSSp, Fr. Czeslaw Noworolnik, Fr. Javier Antolin Sanchez OSA, Mr. Victor Badibanga Bin Kapela, Mr. Samuel Halbur). With a heart full of joy I express my unfeigned thanks for their work and cooperation. We also remember here the Administration of the Institute with its Rector, Rev. Fr. Julian Bednarz SDS and Administration Office.

The Editor

Footnotes

¹ Pope Paul VI's Address to a Symposium of African Bishops, 31 July 1969, quoted by RM, 5.

² Published in Sauti ya Mwokozi, no. 9, 1999, p. 51.

³ Homily His Eminence Polycarp Cardinal Pengo on October 11, 1999 at Morogoro; published in Sauti ya Mwokozi, no. 9, 1999, p. 40.

⁴ Eric Boos, There's no Place Like Lomé: Why Sub-Saharan Africa Cannot Survive in the WTO (Africa Tomorrow, vol. 3, no. 1, June 3, 2003), 13-14.

⁵ Aquiline Tarimo, The Second Scramble for Land in Africa (Africa Tomorrow, vol. 3, no. 1, June 3, 2003), p. 98-99.