Extracts from an article by Luca Attansio published in the Irish Catholic on March 21st, 2024

Nora Kofognotera Nonterah is a Ghanian theologian and university lecturer who participated in the assembly work of the Synod on Synodality as a witness to the synodal process for Africa.

In this interview with Luca Attanasio, Nora reflects on the experience of making a contribution and having it received by the Church.

Extracts:

Women can offer a wider understanding of life, something the Church ahs lost for centuries.

… An African woman is an embodiment of wisdom, is a repository of wisdom, of knowledge of the values of history, of family, o ethnic groups, of community.

In African spirituality there is the concept of the abundance of life, the life of which no one has a monopoly over.

African women are the symbols of a love that is not tied to merit but to the role of the woman who makes herself available to nurture and to teach.

Bishops must increasingly involve women. Another rightly notable area for the future of the Church is that of the seminaries; there is a need to involve women in the formation processes of future priests.

I do not have to be a cleric to make me feel equally responsible and equal.

Governance in the Church can be exercised whether you are ordained or not.

The best legacy is this emerging spirit of co-responsibility.

The concept that differences are not a threat but an asset is gaining ground.

I think this sense of openness to others is another gift of the Synod, entering into the world of others, appreciating their experiences, perspectives and learning how to journey with them precisely because we are all never the same.

 

Communications