INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP IN “OCTOGESIMA ADVENIENS”: A THEOLOGICAL RESPONSE TO NEGATIVE ETHNICITY IN RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES IN THE ARCHDIOCESE OF NAIROBI, KENYA
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Date
2026-10-27
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THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN AFRICA
Abstract
This dissertation examines inclusive leadership as articulated in Octogesima Adveniens (1971) as a theological response to the persistent challenge of negative ethnicity within religious communities in the Archdiocese of Nairobi, Kenya. Situated within an ecclesiological framework that understands the Church as the sacrament of communion, the study argues that religious communities are called to embody unity in diversity through participation, fraternity, and shared
mission. Although consecrated life is founded on the Gospel values of communion, equality, and evangelical witness, the study establishes that negative ethnicity continues to manifest itself in formation houses, leadership structures, community life, pastoral ministry, and decision-making through ethnic favoritism, exclusion, leadership bias, mistrust, and unequal participation. These practices undermine ecclesial communion, weaken missionary evangelization, diminish the credibility of consecrated life, and contribute to vocational frustration, weakened fraternity, and, in some cases, departures from religious life. Employing a dogmatic-contextual and interdisciplinary methodology, the study integrates Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, the Church's Magisterium, Catholic Social Teaching, African theological perspectives, social analysis, and empirical research. It situates the Archdiocese of Nairobi within its historical, cultural, and
pastoral context before examining the origins and contemporary manifestations of negative ethnicity in Kenya and their influence on the life and governance of religious communities. Qualitative data were collected through questionnaires, interviews, observations, and consultations with bishops, priests, religious men and women, formators, the Office of Consecrated Life in the Archdiocese of Nairobi, ACWECA, AOSK, RSCK, Ex - religious, and lay Christians. The findings
reveal persistent patterns of ethnic favoritism, structural injustice, inadequate intercultural formation, shallow catechesis, and insufficient integration of Catholic Social Teaching in leadership formation and community life. They further demonstrate that ethnic diversity enriches the Church when properly integrated but becomes destructive when ethnic loyalties supersede baptismal identity and the Gospel values of justice, reconciliation, and communion. Through a
hermeneutical reading of Octogesima Adveniens, interpreted in dialogue with the Second Vatican Council, subsequent papal teaching, African theological scholarship, and the contemporary synodal vision of the Church, the dissertation demonstrates that inclusive leadership is not merely an administrative model but a theological imperative rooted in Trinitarian communion and the Church's mission. It promotes participation, dialogue, accountability, justice, shared responsibility, intercultural fraternity, and respect for the equal dignity of every person, thereby providing a theological framework for overcoming ethnic divisions, strengthening ecclesial communion, and renewing the evangelical witness of religious life. The study concludes that authentic renewal of religious communities requires sustained spiritual conversion, intercultural and justice-oriented formation, transparent and participatory governance, and the integration of Catholic Social Teaching throughout initial and ongoing formation. It proposes inclusive leadership, inspired by Octogesima Adveniens, as a credible theological response for transforming negative ethnicity into positive diversity, fostering reconciliation, justice, and communion, renewing consecrated life, and strengthening missionary evangelization within the Archdiocese of Nairobi and the wider African Church. The dissertation contributes to the development of a contextual theology of leadership that integrates ecclesiology, Catholic Social Teaching, and consecrated life in addressing one of the most pressing pastoral and ecclesial challenges facing the contemporary Church in Africa.
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Keywords
Inclusive leadership in "Octogesima Adveniens", theological reflection, negative ethnicity, ethnic diversity, religious communities, church leadership, social inclusion, ethnic integration, Catholic social teaching, peacebuilding, Archdiocese of Nairobi, Kenya