Liberation theology

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Liberation theology is a sometimes controversial school of theological thought. At its inception, it was predominantly found in the Roman Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council although some suggest that it was first articulated by Dietrich Bonhoeffer during the late 1930s. It is often cited as a form of Christian socialism, and it has enjoyed widespread influence in Latin America and among the Jesuits, although its influence has diminished within Catholicism in the past decade. Although most elements of liberation theology were rejected by the Vatican and liberation theologians harshly admonished by Pope John Paul II (leading to the curtailing of its growth), it is recognized within liberal Protestant circles as an important school of thought, enjoying equal standing with neo-Orthodoxy, feminist theology, process theology and others.

The current Pope, Benedict XVI, has also been long known as a fierce opponent of liberation theology, since he headed the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Contents

[edit] Overview

In essence, liberation theology explores the relationship between Christian, specifically Roman Catholic, theology and political activism, particularly in areas of social justice, poverty and human rights. The main methodological innovation of liberation theology is to do theology (i.e. speak of God) from the viewpoint of the economically poor and oppressed of the human community. According to Jon Sobrino, S.J., the poor are a privileged channel of God's grace. According to Phillip Berryman, liberation theology is "an interpretation of Christian faith through the poor's suffering, their struggle and hope, and a critique of society and the Catholic faith and Christianity through the eyes of the poor".

Liberation theology focuses on Jesus Christ as not only the Savior but also as the Liberator of the Oppressed. Emphasis is placed on those parts of the Bible where Jesus' mission is described in terms of liberation and as a bringer of justice (Matthew 26:51-52) [1]. This is interpreted as a call to arms to carry out this mission of justice -- literally by some. A number of liberation theologians, though not all, also add certain Marxist concepts such as the doctrine of perpetual class struggle.

Liberation theology also emphasizes individual self-actualization as part of God's divine purpose for humankind. In other words, we are given life so that we may pursue it to its full potential. Therefore, obstacles or oppressions put in our path must be resisted and abolished.

In addition to teaching at some Roman Catholic universities and seminaries, liberation theologians can often be found in Protestant-oriented schools. They tend to have considerable contact with the poor and interpret sacred scripture partly based on their experiences in this context -- what they label praxis.

[edit] History: CELAM, López, liberation and the Vatican

Created in 1955 in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), the CELAM (Conselho Episcopal Latino Americano - Latin American Episcopal Conference) pushed the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) toward a more social stance. During the next four years, CELAM prepared 1968 Medellín Conference, in Colombia. Cardinal Alfonso López Trujillo who was a central figure in Medellín and is currently in the Vatican, says that the gathering of Roman Catholic Bishops officially supported a version of Liberation Theology similar to that of Vatican's CDF in 1984. The whole story began in the X Meeting of CELAM in Mar del Plata and the message Pope Paul VI issued to the Latin American Bishops, Church and problems. Cardinal López Trujillo in his account of those historical events also says that the origin of liberation theology was simultaneously created by the CELAM's Reflection Task Force, of which he was president, and a Brazilian theologian from Princeton, Rubem Alves, who in 1968 wrote Towards a Theology of Liberation.

Among the several essays published on liberation theology in the 1970s, one of the most famous is by the Peruvian priest Gustavo Gutiérrez. In his 1972 essay A Theology of Liberation: Perspectives, a collection of essays Gutiérrez managed to present as a single essay, he theorized a combination of Marxism and the social-Catholic teachings contributing to a socialist current in the Church that was influenced by the Catholic Worker Movement and the French Christian youth worker organization, "Jeunesse Ouvrière Chrétienne". It was also influenced by Paul Gauthier's "The Poors, Jesus and the Church" (1965).

CELAM as such never supported liberation theology that was frowned on by the Vatican, with Pope Paul VI trying to slow the movement after the 1962-1965 Council. Cardinal Samore, in charge of relations between the Roman Curia and the CELAM as the leader of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, was ordered to put a stop to this orientation judged antithetical to the Catholic church's global teachings.

With Cardinal Alfonso López Trujillo's election in 1972 as general secretary of the CELAM, another liberationist current began to take force in Latin America. This one was an orthodox point of view which became predominant in CELAM as well as in the Roman Curia after the General Meeting of Latin American Bishops in Puebla in 1979.

At the 1979 CELAM's Conference of Puebla, more ecclesiastical reorientation was met by strong opposition from the liberal part of the clergy, which assumed the concept of a "preferential option for the poor," that had been stamped by Bishop Ricard Durand, who acted as president of the Comission about Poverty in Medellin.

Sebastian Kappen, an Indian theologian, published Jesus and Freedom in 1977, with an introduction by the French activist François Houtart. In 1980, the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith asked the General of the Society of Jesus (of which Kappen was a member) to disavow this book. Kappen responded with a pamphlet entitled "Censorship and the Future of Asian Theology". There was no further action taken by Vatican in this matter.

A new trend blossomed from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI)'s and Pope John Paul II's condemnations of the Marxist current of liberation theology, which is called Reconciliation Theology and has had a great influence among clergy and laity in Latin America.

[edit] The Vatican's reaction

Due to the controversial nature of these topics, the place of liberation theology within the Church and the extent to which Church officials have addressed it has been a matter of corresponding controversy. Because liberation theology is only partially compatible with Catholic social teaching as expressed in official statements, it has been rejected by the Vatican because of the Marxist concepts that tend towards materialism; this aspect of liberation theology is the most objectionable to orthodox Catholic critics who regard it as "incitement to hate and violence (and) the exaltation of class struggle" [2]. However the former Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, has praised that aspect of the movement which rejects violence and instead "stresses the responsibility which Christians necessarily bear for the poor and oppressed" [3]. Nevertheless in a deep essay on liberation published in 1983 he has strongly criticized the Marxist trend of liberation theology as presented by father Gutiérrez.

Pope John Paul II steered from a conciliatory course during his opening speech at the January 1979 Puebla CELAM conference, saying, "this conception of Christ as a political figure, a revolutionary, as the subversive of Nazareth, does not tally with the Church's catechisms". However, he also expressed concern over, "the ever increasing wealth of the rich at the expense of the ever increasing poverty of the poor". He also affirmed that the principle of private property "must lead to a more just and equitable distribution of goods, ... and if the common good demands it, there is no need to hesitate at expropriation itself, done in the right way".

Despite the orthodox predominance in CELAM at Sucre from 1972, liberation theology retained a high degree of support in some circles, especially among the South-American laity and individual priests. However, the Puebla conference was far from definitive. Despite the classical organization of the orthodox delegation, a group of liberation theologians, operating out of a nearby seminary with the help of liberal bishops, managed to partially obstruct the orthodoxy's effort to ensure that the Puebla documents were conform to the official Catholic policy. Within four hours after the Pope's speech, Gutierrez and the others produced a twenty-page refutation which circulated on the floor. According to critics, twenty-five percent of the finalized Puebla documents were written by theologians that had not even been invited to the conference. Cardinal López Trujillo considers this affirmation "an incredible exaggeration". Nevertheless he concedes that there was a strong pressure from a group of some 80 Marxist liberationists from outside the Bishop's Conference. "Those who criticized Puebla, now say they wrote part of it", mocks the Colombian Cardinal. Despite the disavowal of liberation theology by Catholic church authorities and large groups of the Latin American laity, however, the movement after Puebla managed to persist in some areas.

Former Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, strongly opposed liberation theology. Through the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, led by Ratzinger, the Vatican condemned liberation theology twice (in 1984 and 1986) accusing it of Marxist tendencies and incitement to hate and violence. Leonardo Boff, for example, was suspended, while others were reputedly reduced to silence. In 1980, San Salvador's prelate archbishop, Óscar Romero, clashed with Pope John Paul II during his visit to Europe.

Romero was later assassinated during Mass in San Salvador by unknown members of death squads that some critics associate with the Salvadorian political right and moreover with the government of El Salvador. The same argument accuses the Salvadorian government of having been supported by the U.S. Government diplomatically, financially and militarily. Close to certain personal forms of liberation theology and opposed to the death squads, Óscar Romero argued that El Salvador's government should not be supported because of its legitimation of terror and human rights violations.

In March 1983, Cardinal Ratzinger made "ten observations" on Gutiérrez's theology, including accusing Gutiérrez of politically interpreting the Bible and of supporting a temporal messianism. Ratzinger also declared that the influence of Marxism was proven by the predominance accorded to orthopraxis over orthodoxy. Finally, this document states that these conceptions necessarily uphold a similar class conflict inside the Church, which logically leads to a rejection of hierarchy. During the 1980-90s, Ratzinger continued his condemnation of liberation theology, prohibiting some dissident priests to teach these doctrines in the Catholic church's name and excommunicating Tissa Balasuriya in Sri Lanka for the same. Under his influence, theological formation schools were prohibited from using the Catholic Church's organization and grounds to teach liberation theology as its doctrines contradicts the global Catholic church policy.

During his travel to Managua, Nicaragua, Pope John Paul II harshly condemned what he dubbed the "popular Church"; this movement within the church was partly fueled by "ecclesial base communities" or CEBs, for class struggle, the replacement of the Catholic theurgy by a democratic system featuring local selection with regard to the magisterium) and Nicaraguan clergy tendencies to support the Sandinistas. The Pope further insisted on His authority over the Church as Universal Pastor, in conformity with canonical law and global Church teachings.

[edit] Liberation theologians and supporters of liberation theology

[edit] See also

[edit] Bibliography

  • Ratzinger, Joseph Cardinal, "Liberation Theology" (preliminary notes to 1984 Instruction)
  • Berryman, Phillip, Liberation Theology (1987).
  • Sigmund, P.E., Liberation Theology at the Crossroads (1990).
  • Hillar, Marian, "Liberation Theology: Religious Response to Social Problems. A Survey", published in Humanism and Social Issues. Anthology of Essays. M. Hillar and H.R. Leuchtag, eds., American Humanist Association, Houston, 1993, pp. 35-52 [4].
  • Gutiérrez, Gustavo, A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics and Salvation, Orbis Books, 1988.
  • Smith, Christian, The Emergence of Liberation Theology: Radical Religion and the Social Movement Theory, University of Chicago Press, 1991.
  • Mahan, Brian and L. Dale Richesin, The Challenge of Liberation Theology: A First World Response, 1981, Orbis Books, Maryknoll, NY.

[edit] External links

[edit] Vatican

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