Feature story
In her opening remarks, Prof. Sarojini Nadar, of DTC) spoke of the symbolism of having the Desmond Tutu Center hosting this conference. She went on to describe the Kairos as “a gift from South Africa to the global ecumenical movement, which inspired multiple adaptations and translations.”
The conference combined panel conversations, short paper presentations, and workshops. “The conference was a powerful intergenerational platform of engagement,” said Dr Masiiwa Ragies Gunda, World Council of Churches (WCC) programme executive for Racial Justice, Equity, and Inclusion.
Prof. Allan Boesak, one of the original signatories to the document, declared that, in 1985 when the Kairos was recognized as the moment of truth, it was radically revolutionary for theologians to risk it all by challenging established church and government. He, however acknowledged that in the heat of the moment they did not employ a gender justice lens and therefore did not directly address the concerns of women. This was affirmed by aunty Dr Betty Govinden (82), one of the female signatories.
In highlighting the power of the Kairos, Boesak recalled the words of John de Gruchy, who said, on the day the Kairos document was signed, “The apartheid South African government just fell today, only that they do not recognize it yet.”
According to Rifat Kassis, Palestinian theologian and contributor to the Palestinian Kairos, it took 18 months of studying together and writing together by a group of 15 Palestinian theologians who thought they were working locally for local impact but ended up producing a document that would be globalized through translations by others, including the WCC.
In Palestine, the Kairos is seen as an intergenerational movement and not just a document. In challenging churches globally, in the face of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, Rifat said, “Silence is complicit in the face of genocide.”
In her intervention, Rev. Prof Dr Margit Ernst-Habib, member of the WCC Reference Group on Overcoming Racism, Xenophobia, Casteism, and All Other Forms of Discrimination, spoke of churches using “watchman narratives” that position them as vigilant institutions that seek to stop all incoming threats while avoiding critical self-introspection for historic complicit involvement in injustices, leading to what she called a "Disney Princess Theology” that continues to perpetrate “epistemic violence” by European and North American epistemologies against mostly Global South theologies and theological contributions.
She bemoaned the rising tide of “epistemology of ignorance – an aggressive and persistent refusal to know, especially regarding historic injustices.” This sentiment was equally advanced by Prof. Farid Esack, who pondered, “there has not been sufficient talking of truth to our privilege and power, as churches, ecumenical bodies, and faith traditions.”
In his intervention, Gunda spoke of the need for churches to be enraged by the injustices of today and to opt for a situation of material poverty rather than that of prophetic bankruptcy. The churches ought to embrace “the courage to speak truth to power, speak truth to empower, as well as acting truthfully to dismantle systems of oppression and exploitation.” He went on to call for global solidarities across fault lines sponsored by the unjust powers and systems, including racial, gender, ethnic, and class lines.
At the end of the conversations, the conference participants called for a revival of the Kairos movement globally, including making the Kairos more inclusive.
“Why would people from all over the world gather in Cape Town for the 40th anniversary of a document written for a specific context and a specific time?” asked Ernst-Habib. “For me, the answer lies in the prophetic legacy and global impact of the Kairos Document.”
She noted that the bold theological manifesto called the church to radical solidarity with the oppressed and to denounce injustice in all its forms.
“Forty years later, the Kairos ethos remains deeply relevant, since injustice, inequality, violence, and exclusion still persist globally, as well as power and privilege for certain groups,” said Ernst-Habib. “So the anniversary gathering is not just about commemorating history, but about critically, globally, and communally engaging with present theology, and renewing a commitment to prophetic witness wherever people face oppression, making the Kairos vision a living tradition with urgent relevance today.”
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