The role of the Catholic Church in conflict resolution: case study Atanga Parish, Gulu Archdiocese

Abstract

In this context, most of these conflicts are caused by avoidable problems rooted in individuals, communities and political environment. They come from competition for scarce resources, unequal development patterns, high level of poverty, poor local governance and violation of human rights, sexual and gender based violence and land as an economic resource is a leading cause of inter-community conflict in Atanga parish amongst other examples.. It also points out that in the processes of conflict resolution, the Catholic Church is a double-edged sword; it can positively educate the civil society about the conflict issues but it can also serve as a conflict escalator and agitator. Today the Church’s effort towards realization of peace and stability in Northern Uganda cannot be overlooked. The Church struggles to address many cases of violence, torture, wars and conflicts. The researcher points out that there is no clear understanding of the meaning of conflict known to people because majority of the people looked at conflict as negative and in such they remained ignorant. The researcher would therefore, seek to find out how best conflicts can be handled by the Church and all people to enjoy peace and harmony in Atanga parish.

General Objective To examine the role played by the Church in conflict resolution of the people of Atanga parish. Specific Objectives:  To find out the causes of the conflict in Atanga parish  To present the role of the Church in conflict resolution in Atanga parish  To identify the challenges or factors hindering the Church’s attempt in carrying out conflict resolution in Atanga parish  To point out the strategies/ ways of conflict resolution in Atanga parish