New Communities are charismatic Catholic lay associations that have grown up like wildfire in Ivory Coast and are spreading to other sites from there. To explore the theological meaning and implications of the new phenomenon, Catholics & Cultures and the Jesuits' Institut de Théologie de la Compagnie de Jésus in Abidjan are working to bring together representatives of the 200+ communities flourishing there.
A conference, titled Communautés Nouvelles comme un Lieu Théologique: Innovations pastorales et transformations spirituelles / New Communities as a Theological Site: Pastoral innovations and spiritual transformations, originally scheduled for late March, has been postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic. We will update this page when a new date is set.
Themes will include:
- meaning and directions of the new evangelization for the Church in Africa,
- pastoral innovations in the New Communities,
- spiritual conversion and growth,
- the practice of prayers of healing, deliverance and exorcism,
- how to avoid the risks of abuse in pastoral relations,
- theological constructions in the New Communities, and
- New Communities in the life of the Ivory Coast Church today and tomorrow.