Bujo, Bénézet 1940–

PERSONAL: Born April 4, 1940, in Drodro, Congo; son of Michel Ngodya and Léonie Dyedha. Education: Completed habilitation and doctorate in theology. Religion: Roman Catholic.

ADDRESSES: Home—Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo. Office—University of Freiburg, Av. de l'Europe 20, Freiburg, CH-1700 Switzerland. E-mail—benezet.bujo@unifr.ch.

CAREER: Writer and educator. University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Switzerland, professor of theology.

WRITINGS:

Morale africaine et foi chrétienne, Faculté de Théologie Catholique (Kinshasa, Congo), 1976.

Les exigences du message évangelique. De l'orthodoxie à l'orthopraxie, Editions Saint Paul Afrique (Kinshasa, Congo), 1980.

Les dix commandements: pourquoi faire?, Editions Saint Paul Afrique (Kinshasa, Congo), 1980, translation published as Do We Still Need the Ten Commandments?, Editions Saint Paul Afrique (Nairobi, Kenya), 1990.

Die Begründung des Sittlichen: zur Frage des Eudämonismus bei Thomas von Aquin, F. Schöningh (Paderborn, Germany), 1984.

Afrikanische Theologie in ihrem gesellschaftlichen Kontext, Patmos (Düsseldorf, Germany), 1986, translation by John O'Donohue published as African Theology in Its Social Context, Orbis Books (Maryknoll, NY), 1992.

African Christian Morality at the Age of Inculturation, Saint Paul Publications-Africa (Nairobi, Kenya), 1990.

Die ethische Dimension der Gemeinschaft. Das afrikanische Modell im Nord-Sud-Dialog, University of Freiburg (Freiburg, Germany), 1993, translation published as The Ethical Dimension of Community: The African Model and the Dialogue between North and South, Pauline Publications Africa (Nairobi, Kenya), 1998.

Christmas: God Becomes Man in Black Africa, Paulines Publications Africa (Nairobi, Kenya), 1995.

Utamadunisho na kanisa la mazingira: nija ya kujitegemea katika yote, Paulines Publications Africa (Nairobi, Kenya), 1999.

Wider den Universalanspruch westlicher Moral: Grundlagen afrikanischer Ethik, Herder (Freiburg, Switzerland), 2000, translation by Brian McNeil published as Foundations of an African Ethic: Beyond the Universal Claims of Western Morality, Crossroad Publishing (New York, NY), 2001.

Le notre Père. Son impact sur la vie quotidienne. Méditation d'un théologien africain, Editions Paulines (Kinshasa, Congo), 2001, translation published as The Impact of the Our Father on Everyday Life: Meditations of an African Theologian, Paulines Publications Africa (Nairobi, Kenya), 2002.

(Editor, with Juvénal Ilunga Muya) Théologie africaine au XXIe siècle. Quelques figures, Editions Universitaires (Freiburg, Switzerland), 2002, translation by Silvano Borruso published as African Theology in the Twenty-first Century: The Contribution of the Pioneers, Paulines Publications Africa (Nairobi, Kenya), 2003.

Buzo's writings have also been published in Swahili and Italian.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Théologie africaine au XXIe siècle, Volumes 2-3, for Editions Universitaires; Christliche Ehe und Ethik. Ein nicht westliches konzept.

SIDELIGHTS: Bénézet Bujo told CA: "As a Christian theologian, writing is an essential part of my apostolate. In my work I have been influenced by various theologians: Thomas Aquinas; German theologians Karl Rahner, Johann Baptist Metz, Walter Kasper, and Alfous Auer; Belgian and French theologians Edward Schillebeeckx and M.-D. Chenu; African theologians N. Mulago and E. Mueng; and German philosophers J. Habermas and K.O. Apel."

"I began with the study of Thomas Aquinas in order to learn his method and his spirit of dealing with the problems of his time. This was the subject of my doctoral thesis and the topic of my habilitation. After having studied Thomas and the Western authors (philosophers and theologians), I began to study their cultural backgrounds and the relativity of their methods and teachings. This gave me the input to develop my own view on theological questions in the context of my African culture.

"What inspires me to write as I do is that all the systems I studied could not answer the burning questions in black Africa. I thought black Africa needs its own way of thinking."