Lubumbashi, September 2nd, 2025 (CPA). – ‘Être catholique en RDC dans un monde en mutation’ (Being a Catholic in DRC in a changing world), a book by Mgr Fulgence Muteba, Metropolitan Archbishop of Lubumbashi (Haut-Katanga), in the south-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has been presented at a vernissage in this town, CPA has learnt on Tuesday.
‘Faced with the excessive secularisation of our modern societies, the violent rupture of alliances and the general dislocation of points of reference, the Catholic intellectual has a particular responsibility to prevent society from losing its soul’, has written the author of this 250-page work, published by Hibiscus et du Cygne, quoted by Abbot Jean-Marie Vianney Musul, secretary chancellor of the archdiocese and presenter of the book. For the Archbishop and President of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (Cenco). « Being a Catholic Christian cannot be an ornament to be exhibited. Wherever they are, Catholic Christians are called to be witnesses and ambassadors of Christ », has specified the priest. For his part, Professor Emeritus Amuri Moala has explained that the book presents the Catholic intellectual « as a light for his society ».
« This book is an instrument of moral rearmament for the Catholic intellectual. The latter must be aware of his responsibilities in society and be seen as a reference for development », has commented Mposhi, the head of the project and a lecturer at the University of Lubumbashi. The writer Jano Bakasanda has pointed out that ‘this work places the Catholic intellectual before his or her responsibilities (…) for a job well done and a positive mental attitude’. The book « Être catholique en RDC dans un monde en mutation » (Being a Catholic in DRC in a changing world) is a collection of African thoughts, bringing together the contributions of participants in the First Diocesan Week of Catholic Christian intellectuals and executives of the Archdiocese of Lubumbashi, held from June 5th to 8th 2024 in Lubumbashi, under the theme « Being a Catholic Christian in a changing world ». Bishop Fulgence Muteba has a doctorate in Practical Theology from the University of Montreal in Canada. CPA/