The Journey of Reconciliation: Groaning for a New Creation in Africa.

• Author: Nti, Kwaku
• Position: AFRICA - Book review

Katangole, Emmanuel. The Journey of Reconciliation: Groaning for a New Creation in Africa. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2017.

Emmanuel Katangole reiterates the popular view that the increasing number of books on reconciliation is indicative of the growing interest on the subject. This keen interest, according to Katongole, is not devoid of meaning; it reifies a deep "longing for peace and healing in an increasingly violent and conflict-ridden world" (p. ix). As much as this kind of desire aims at mitigating the harm done by past atrocities, it is also one that hopes to deal with equally vicious cases in the future.

Katongole wonders why Christianity is more often than not overlooked in reconciliation programs, projects, and recommendations. He feels that this absence suggests that many believe that the value of the Christian faith in this all-important human quest for personal, social, and political healing is dubious. Thus, in this book, Katongole is on a mission to make explicit the difference Christianity can make in how the world understands and practices reconciliation as the global community comes to terms with how those processes play out on the African continent.

The book's underpinning theme is the exposition of reconciliation as a journey that is undertaken not by individuals but by God with his creation, a journey that is rooted in his initial commitment to restoration after the fall of humanity. This divine gesture, according to Katongole, is at once a gift and an invitation to mankind to make the same commitment. That, in essence, is both the theory and the biggest challenge of reconciliation.

Katongole establishes five key themes related to the Christian journey of reconciliation: the telos or end, sorrow, hope, leadership, and conversion. The twelve chapters are divided into three parts. Part one is the theoretical component that deals with reconciliation as a gift, the invitation to reconciliation, and the limitations of the search for political justice in Africa. This section also highlights the silence in Rwanda after genocide as indicative of the...