Date of Award
5-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Publisher
Santa Clara : Santa Clara University, 2026
Degree Name
Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL)
Director
Monica Marcelli-Chu
Abstract
This thesis emerges from my personal background. Born and raised in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), I have witnessed firsthand the persistent suffering, war, and despair that have plagued the region. While maturing, a deep desire to contribute to meaningful solutions grew within me. This experience ultimately gave rise to the central question of the thesis: In what ways is genuine conversion possible amid profound moral crisis?
Focusing on the DRC and the broader Great Lakes region - characterized by cycles of violence, egoism, broken institutions, distorted narratives, systematic disintegration, and the erosion of moral vision - this thesis attempts to develop a critical and constmctive dialogue between the works of Bernard Lonergan, Emmanuel Katongole, and Walter Bmeggemann.
Integrating these voices, the thesis argues that moral conversion is a communal, narrative-driven reorientation of imagination. Lonergan provides anthropological foundations for authentic subjectivity, Katongole grounds the analysis in African realities, and Brueggemann supplies biblical resources for subversive hope. The future of the DRC and Great Lakes region depends not merely on resource redistribution or institutional reform, but on the emergence of a new horizon of meaning.
Recommended Citation
Floribert, Ilunga Kalombola, "Moral Conversion and Imagination: A Dialogue Between Lonergan and Katongole" (2026). Jesuit School of Theology Dissertations. 166.
https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/jst_dissertations/166
