Ministries in the Catholic Church Today: The Nigerian situation

Abstract

Aims: This thesis seeks to study ministry, as it is understood today in the light of the renewed ecclesiology of Vatican II, and to relate this study to the church situation in Nigeria. This thesis proposes to investigate the possible need for changes in the practices of ministries in the church in Nigeria. The study aims to articulate a theology of ministry and to critically review the growth and development of ministries in the church from the beginnings of Christianity up to the mid-second century. It will also critically review the understanding of ministry in Vatican II and post-Vatican II documents, and describe and critically analyse the development of ministries in the Nigerian church before and after Vatican II. It will suggest a way forward in the broadening and diversifying of ministries in that country by suggesting ways in which the practice of ministry may be enhanced in the local churches in Nigeria. By local churches, this writer is referring particularly to small Catholic communities or rural out-stations of the church in Nigeria.