The fifteenth Pope John Paul the Second Memorial Lecture series held at Pope John Paul the Second Seminary, Okpuno in Awka South Local Government Area, has stressed the need for Africans to strike a balance between religion and modernity to conform to the key dynamics of sustainable development.
The lecture which had as its the theme “Religion, Modernity and Post Modernity: The African Development Discourse was to mark the seventeenth anniversary of the death of John Paul the second.
Onyinye Agubaeze was there and reports that in his address, Reverend Father Cyril Udebunu, Rector of Pope John Paul the Second Major Seminary, stated that while religion can accelerate development, it can also stifle it, particularly religious extremists and fundamentalists who reject modernity and encourage a more antiquated way of life.
In a paper presentation Reverend Father Professor Josephat Oguejiofor, who presented a paper on the theme “Religion, African Development, and Sciento-technical Rationality,” stated that religion is linked to human terrestrial earthly existence, which is relevant to development.
In another paper, presentation titled “From Postcolonialism to Trans- colonization: A Focus on the Role of Religion and Ideology in Development” Professor Joseph Agbakoba noted that it is unreasonable to completely abandon the western epistemic orientation in the name of restoring the traditional orientation because all aspects of technology are better and that Africans should improve on the orientation in their own way.
Later, in an interview, the event’s convener, Reverend Father Felix Akamonye, expressed gratitude to all who attended, saying that the presenters exceeded their expectations and that the lecture was designed to make philosophy relevant in the discourse of policies and the economy to lead to better development in Africa.
Some of the participants including Cosmas Tyoule and Jeremiah Ugwute expressed delight at the knowledge garnered from the lecture, which they said has broadened their horizons of the essence of religion.
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