Liberation theology: Encyclopedia - Liberation theology

Liberation theology

Liberation theology is an important and controversial school in the theology of the Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council. It is often cited as a form of Christian socialism, and it has had particularly widespread influence in Latin America and among the Jesuits, although its influence has diminished since important parts of its teaching were rejected by the Vatican.

The current pope, Benedict XVI, has also been long known as an opponent of liberation theology, and indeed in his position (1981-2005) as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was a key enforcer of the opposition of the previous pope, Pope John Paul II, to certain socialist tendencies in liberation theology.

Liberation theology - Overview

In essence, liberation theology explores the relationship between Christian theology (usually Catholic) and political activism, particularly in areas of social justice 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 (see the bibliography), 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 as a liberator. Emphasis is placed on those parts of the Bible where Jesus' mission is described in terms of liberation, and as a bringer of justice. This is interpreted as a call to arms to carry out this mission of justice -- literally by some. A number of liberation theologians add Marxist concepts such as the doctrine of perpetual class struggle.

According to Gustavo Gutiérrez true “liberation” has three main dimensions:

• First, it involves political and social liberation, the elimination of the immediate causes of poverty and injustice.
• Second, liberation involves the emancipation of the poor, the marginalised, the downtrodden and the oppressed from all “those things that limit their capacity to develop themselves freely and in dignity”.
• Third, Liberation Theology involves liberation from selfishness and sin, a re-establishment of a relationship with God and with other people.

Liberation theologians usually do not teach in universities and seminaries. They tend to have much contact with the poor, and interpret scripture partly based on their experiences in this context -- what they label praxis.

Liberation theology - History: from Gustavo Gutiérrez to Vatican's condemnation

Created in 1955 in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), the CELAM (Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano - Latin American Episcopal Conference) pushed the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) toward a more progressive stance. During the four next years, CELAM prepared 1968 Medellin Conference, in Colombia, officially supporting "ecclesial base communities" (CEBs) and the liberation theology founded by Gustavo Gutiérrez in his 1972 essay.

Gustavo Gutiérrez's essay, "A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics and Salvation", theorized for the first time this social-catholic current in the Church, 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" (1963), which was the result of works preliminary to the Second Vatican Council.

CELAM support for liberation theology was frowned on by Vatican, with 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.

With Alfonso Cardinal López Trujillo's election in 1972 as general secretary of the CELAM, conservatives gained control of this organization as well as of the Roman Curia.

However, in August 1975, a theological congress in Mexico on the theme of "liberation and captivity" gathered more than 700 persons. The next year, Leonardo Boff published "Teologia do Cativeiro e da Libertação". At the 1979 CELAM's Conference of Puebla, conservative reorientation was met by strong opposition from the progressive part of the clergy, which defined the concept of a "preferential option for the poor".

Liberation theology - Official condemnation

Due to the controversial nature of these topics, the place of liberation theology within the Church and the extent to which Church officials should uphold it has been a matter of corresponding controversy. Although liberation theology is 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" [1]. 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" [2].

Pope John Paul II largely put an end to official support for liberation theology among the Catholic Church's hierarchy by his statement in January 1979, on a visit to Mexico, that "this conception of Christ as a political figure, a revolutionary, as the subversive of Nazareth, does not tally with the Church's teachings", symbolizing Vatican's success in re-instating its authority among clergy tempted by social and political action. However, liberation theology retained a high degree of support, especially among the laity and individual priests. And indeed John Paul himself afterward acknowledged that Marxism contained within it a "kernel of truth" about the exploitative nature of capitalism.

John Paul II charged former Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, to systematically oppose Liberation theology. Through the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, led by Ratzinger, Vatican condemned Liberation theology twice (in 1984 and 1986) accusing it of Marxist tendencies. Leonardo Boff, for example, was suspended, while others were reduced to silence. In 1980, San Salvador's prelate archbishop Óscar Romero, who had clashed with Pope John Paul II during his visit to Europe, was assassinated during mass. Close to Liberation theology and opposed to the death squads, Oscar Romero argued that El Salvador's government couldn't be supported because of its legitimation of terror and human rights violations.

In March 1983, Cardinal Ratzinger made "ten observations" on Gutiérrez's theology, incuding 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 doctrinal condemnation of liberation theology, prohibiting some priests to teach, or going as far as excommunicating Tissa Balasuriya in Sri Lanka. Under his influence, theological formation schools were prohibited from teaching liberation theology.

In his travel in Managua, Nicaragua, John Paul II harshly condemned what he dubbed the "popular Church" (i.e. "ecclesial base communities" (CEBs) supported by the CELAM) and, against nicaraguan clergy tendencies to support the Sandinistas, insisted on Vatican's sole and only authority.

Liberation theology - Liberation theologians

• Jean-Bertrand Aristide
• Paulo Evaristo Arns
• Marcella Althaus-Reid
• Samuel Ruiz
• Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo
• Leonardo Boff
• Hélder Câmara
• James Cone
• Ernesto Cardenal
• Jose Miguez Bonino
• Ignacio Ellacuría S.J.
• Ignacio Martin-Baro S.J.
• Segundo Montes Mozo S.J.
• Gérard Jean-Juste
• Erwin Kräutler
• Óscar Romero
• Gustavo Gutiérrez
• Stephen Sizer
• Jon Sobrino S.J.
• Camilo Torres Restrepo
• Paul Gauthier
• Juan Luis Segundo

German liberation theologians:

• Johann Baptist Metz (catholic)
• Jürgen Moltmann (protestant)
• Dorothee Sölle (protestant)

Liberation theology - Passages from the Bible

• He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed. (Luke 4:18)

• And Mary said ... "He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away". (Luke 1:51-53)

• And if your brother becomes poor, and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall maintain him; as a stranger and a sojourner he shall live with you. Take no interest from him or increase, but fear your God; that your brother may live beside you. You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit. I am the Lord your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God. (Leviticus 25:35-38)

• The community of believers were of one heart and one mind. None of them ever claimed anything as his own; rather, everything was held in common. With power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great respect was paid to them all; nor was there anyone needy among them, for all who owned property or houses sold them and lay them at the feet of the apostles to be distributed to everyone according to his need. (Acts 4:32-35; see also 2:42-47)

• The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God (Isaiah 61:1-2)

• Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.. (James 5:1-6)

• Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the authorities, against the powers, against the rulers of darkness in this world. -Ephesians 6:12

See also:

• Christian anarchism
• Dalit theology
• Black theology
• Feminist theology
• Minjung theology
• Négritude
• Progressive Christianity

Liberation theology - Bibliography

• 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. [3]
• Gutiérrez, Gustavo, A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics and Salvation, Orbis Books, 1988

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Liberation theology", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki