Abstract

The Journal of Social Encounters mourns the loss, and celebrates the life, of the much-loved Bishop Paride Taban. We thank our authors below for sharing their reflections on him. In his memory, we also re-print an essay about him by Alberto Eisman Torres, A Beacon of Hope in a Troubled Context: Sketches of the Life of Mons. Paride Taban, Shepherd and Bridge-builder, an essay in our special collection on Peace Bishops. I was blessed to know Bisop Taban, and would see him in Nairobi and in Minnesota. One of his associates was a student of mine at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa who wrote his Master's thesis on the Kuron Peace Village. I always will remember Bishop Taban's warm, smiling face, his compassion and his gentle and engaging manner. He knew more about peacebuilding than many of us academics and practitioners may ever know, and many of us wanted to learn more from him. He was a true reflection of Christ, and dare I say, a saint. May we continue to learn from him and be inspired by his example. – Ron Pagnucco