Jon Sobrino
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| Jon Sobrino, S.J. | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 27, 1938 Barcelona, Spain |
| Residence | El Salvador |
| Ethnicity | Basque |
| Field | philosophy, theology |
| Institutions | University of Central America (UCA) |
| Alma mater | Hochschule Sankt Georgen, Frankfurt, Doctorate in Theology (1975); St. Louis University, Masters in Engineering Mechanics (1965) |
| Known for | Latin American Liberation Theology |
| Influences | Ignacio Ellacuria, Karl Rahner |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Jon Sobrino, S.J. (born 27 December 1938, Barcelona, Spain) is a Jesuit Catholic priest and theologian, known mostly for his contributions to liberation theology.
He received worldwide attention in 2007 when the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a Notification for what they see as doctrines which are "erroneous or dangerous and may cause harm to the faithful."
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[edit] Life
Born into a Basque family in Barcelona, Sobrino entered the Jesuit Order when he was 18. The following year, in 1958, he was sent to El Salvador. He later studied engineering at St. Louis University, a Jesuit University, in the United States and then theology in Frankfurt in West Germany. Returning to El Salvador, he taught at the Jesuit-run University of Central America (UCA) in San Salvador, which he helped to found.
On November 16 1989 he narrowly escaped being assassinated by the Salvadoran government. By a coincidence, he was away from El Salvador when members of the military broke into the rectory at the UCA and brutally murdered his six fellow Jesuits, Ignacio Ellacuria, Segundo Montes, Juan Ramón Moreno, Ignacio Martin Baro, Amando López, and Joaquín López y López, and their housekeeper Elba Ramos and her 15-year old daughter Celina Ramos. The Jesuits were targeted for their outspoken work to bring about resolution to the brutal El Salvador Civil War that left about 75,000 men, women, and children dead, in the great majority civilians. To symbolize their hatred of the Jesuits' intellectual contributions and commitments to the people of El Salvador, the military operatives quite literally blew out their brains.
[edit] Works
Sobrino's main works are Jesus the Liberator (1991) and its sequel, Christ the Liberator (1999), along with Christology at the Crossroads (1978), The True Church and the Poor (1984), Spirituality of Liberation (1990), and "The Principle of Mercy" (1994).
[edit] Vatican Notification on the works of Father Sobrino
Because of the theological positions he took in his works, Sobrino was the subject of a theological critique statement and an admonishment by the Vatican and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in March of 2007.
The Congregation declared that Sobrino's "works contain propositions which are either erroneous or dangerous and may cause harm to the faithful." While certain of his teachings were declared false, the Congregation did not condemn or censure him, or prohibit him from teaching or lecturing - for now, this is to be decided by local bishops. His own bishop, Archbishop Fernando Saenz Lacalle, archbishop of San Salvador and primate of El Salvador, has said he may not teach theology or lecture in his archdiocese, which includes UCA, and removed the nihil obstat from his writings. Sobrino placed too great an emphasis on the human nature of Jesus Christ, downplaying Christ's divine nature.[1]
Nonetheless, in accordance with the tradition of Catholic teaching, the requisite authority that differs according to the form of teaching and, of course, debates pertaining to the the nature and role of theological enquiry, the Vatican Notification is simply a collection of theological opinions on Sobrino's work and so Catholics are free to disagree with its judgements and remain in total loyalty to their faith. It is beyond dispute that Sobrino has long been a servant and champion of the poor and his Christology has never been declared to be unorthodox in any way - not even by the 2007 Vatican notification, itself. Numerous Catholic organisations and Professional Associations (such as the Catholic Theological Society of America, The European Society for Catholic Theology and the Catholic Theological Association of Great Britain) have issued statements declaring the Notification unjust, theologically questionable and unnecessary. Equally, such statements issued their support for Fr Sobrino and noted their appreciation for the enormous amount of work Fr Sobrino has done on behalf of the poor and for his theological insights. To this date, Fr Sobrino's global and tireless work on behalf of the poor, needed today perhaps more than ever before, continues unabated and with his energy for the service of the Gospel undimmed by the episodes of 2007.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Catholic World News. Liberation Theology Leader to be Disciplined?. EWTN News. Retrieved on March 9, 2007.
