Joseph-Albert Cardinal Malula and the "Listening Bishop": An Institution to (Re) Discover

Abstract

This article presents the device set up around 1978–1979 by Cardinal Malula in the diocese of Kinshasa (DRC) to promote dialogue and listening, which contribute to the emergence of a “culture of dialogue and encounter.” In this respect, the “listening bishop” is an approach, state of mind, and participative device that enables the bishop to listen to his collaborators. A positive ritual and rite that celebrates fraternity, this device unfolds as a path of synodality. In this context, I will attempt to show that the innovative device that builds the consensus ecclesiae deserves to be rediscovered and restored, in order to adapt it to the evolution of urban pastoral care.