Liberation Theology: the Option for the Poor

1987 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 407-421
Author(s):  
Peter Hebblethwaite
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Latin American ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The People ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Church Structures

One fairly obvious difference between this paper and those you have heard so far is that liberation theology, whatever it means, is still being discussed, attacked, caricatured, and defended with great vehemence and passion. The theme does not possess the completeness and neatness that historians prefer. It sprawls and proliferates. The bibliography is immense. We have already reached the stage of the overarching survey. D. W. Ferm has provided a 150-page summary with a helpful ‘reader’ for the use of college students. Ferm’s survey includes African and Asian theologians as well as Latin Americans. I can understand his desire to include Archbishop-elect Desmond Tutu in South Africa and to provide some hints as to why President Marcos could be deposed in the Philippines. And there is indeed a body called the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians—its unfortunate acronym is EATWOT—which gives some substance to this universalizing claim. But I am going to confine myself to Latin America because it was there that the ‘option for the poor’ was first spoken about. The date was 1968. CELAM, the regional association of Latin American Bishops, met at Medellin in Colombia in August. Pope Paul VI was present, and was the first Pope to kiss the soil of Latin America. There was a feeling abroad that at the Second Vatican Council, which had ended three years before, an essentially European agenda concerned typically with ecumenism and Church structures (collegiality) had prevailed; the Council had yet to be ‘applied’ to the Latin American situation. One phrase, however, provided a stimulus and a starting-point. Gaudium etSpes, the pastoral constitution on the Church in the World of Today, begins with the ringing assertion that ‘the joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this time, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these too are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties, of the followers of Christ’.

scholarly journals Os pobres como perspectiva em Medellín

2018 ◽  
Vol 78 (309) ◽  
pp. 158
Author(s):  
Paulo Sérgio Lopes Gonçalves
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Vatican Ii ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
John Xxiii ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
America Latina ◽  
Pope John Xxiii

Objetiva-se neste artigo apresentar teologicamente os pobres, tendo como perspectiva a II Conferência Geral do Episcopado Latino-americano, realizada na cidade de Medellín, na Colômbia, no período de 24 de agosto a 06 de setembro de 1968. Justifica este objetivo o fato de a referida Conferência, ao buscar adaptar o Concílio Vaticano II na América Latina, ter encontrado na referida categoria o assento plausível para ser fiel à articulação entre fé e contexto histórico latino-americano. Para atingir este objetivo, tomar-se-á a esteira do Concílio Vaticano II, tendo como ponto de partida a expressão “Igreja dos Pobres”, cunhada pelo Papa João XXIII, trazendo à tona importantes posições teológicas sobre a questão dos pobres. Em seguida, decifrar-se-á textualmente a categoria “pobres”, e buscar-se-á visualizá-la como carência, espiritualidade e compromisso em todo o documento das conclusões de Medellín. Espera-se que a hermenêutica textual possibilite visualizar que a Conferência de Medellín não foi um acontecimento que já terminou, mas que continua a ser um chamado para que a Igreja de Cristo, pobre, com os pobres, tenha os pobres como sujeitos históricos, efetivando verdadeiramente uma Igreja dos Pobres.Abstract: This paper aims at presenting theologically the poor as perspective in the second General Conference of the Latin American Episcopate, held in the city of Medellín, in Colombia, in the period from 24 August to 06 September 1968. This objective justified the fact that the Conference, to get fit in the Second Vatican Council in Latin America, found in the said category workable seating to be faithful to the relationship between faith and historical context. To achieve this goal, the wake of the Second Vatican Council, having as starting point the expression “Church of the poor”, coined by Pope John XXIII, bringing up important theological positions on the issue of the poor. Then crack will be verbatim the “poor” category and will view it as grace, spirituality and commitment throughout the document the conclusions of Medellín. It is expected that the textual hermeneutics allows show that the Conference of Medellín was not an event that already expired, but continues to be a call to the Church of Christ, poor, with the poor and the poor as subjects, history effecting truly a Church of the poor.Keywords: Medellín;Poor; Church of the poor; Vatican II.

scholarly journals IDENTIDAD DE LA TEOLOGÍA LATINOAMERICA Y LA TEOLOGÍA DE LA LIBERACIÓN

2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Jorge Costadoat Carrasco
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Theological Method ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Age Of Maturity ◽  
The Status ◽  
Original Speech ◽  
America Latina ◽  
The Church

RESUMEN: El objetivo de esta investigación es suministrar argumentos para identificar la Teología latinoamericana con la Teología de la liberación, y viceversa. Entre estos argumentos se debe considerar la conciencia de alcanzar la “mayoría de edad” de la Iglesia en América Latina en el postconcilio; la convicción de los teólogos de la liberación de estar elaborando una “nueva manera” de hacer teo­logía; una toma de distancia del carácter ilustrado de la teología; y la posibilidad de reconocer en los acontecimientos regionales, particularmente en los pobres, un habla original de Dios. Este artículo pretende hacer una contribución al status quaestionis del método teológico.ABSTRACT: The objective of this paper is to provide arguments to identify Latin American Theology with Liberation Theology, and vice versa. Among these arguments, one should consider the awareness of the Church in Latin America reaching its “age of maturity” in the post-conciliar period. Other arguments are the conviction of liberation theologians to be elaborating a “new way” of doing theology; a distance from the illustrated characteristic of theology; and, the possibility of recognizing in regional events, particularly in the poor, God’s original speech. This article aims to contribute to the status quaestionis of the theological method.

Decolonial Openings in Theologies of Liberation

2018 ◽  
pp. 49-70
Author(s):  
Joseph Drexler-Dreis
Keyword(s):  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Theological Reflection ◽  
Theoretical Possibility ◽  
Western Modernity ◽  
Historical Structures ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Jon Sobrino

The third chapter considers how approaches to theological reflection within Latin American liberation theology might open up toward a decolonial project. It specifically focuses on how the work of the liberation theologians Ignacio Ellacuría and Jon Sobrino, unlike that of Clodovis Boff, points to the theoretical possibility of communities speaking theologically from epistemic loci located within the cracks of Western modernity. Ellacuría and Sobrino open up the methodological possibility to decolonize theological images and concepts, and in doing so, offer the possibility for theological reflection to decolonize social-historical structures. A decolonial option requires, but is also more than, a methodological shift that prioritizes the viewpoint of the poor as the starting point in theological reflection. Investigating how Ellacuría and Sobrino are able to open up the epistemic boundaries of theology is thus not an endpoint, but can provide a way forward for a decolonial theology.

Prophetic Martyrdom in Modern Latin America

2020 ◽  
pp. 236-255
Author(s):  
Edward T. Brett
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Vatican Ii ◽  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
Religious Sisters ◽  
Church Workers ◽  
Modern Latin America ◽  
The Church

Following the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), over a thousand priests and religious sisters and brothers were exiled, imprisoned, tortured, or murdered in Latin America by authoritarian governments. A much larger number of lay Church workers were also incarcerated, brutalized, or killed. Most suffered or died because, following the ideals of Vatican II and the Second Latin American Bishops Conference at Medellín, Colombia (1968), they committed themselves to the amelioration of the marginalized in their countries, even though they were fully aware that to do so placed their lives in great peril. This chapter treats a select number—mostly priests and nuns—who were killed because of their prophetic devotion to the poor. It is limited to the nations of Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Central America. It also touches on the bitter divisions that resulted in the Church as a consequence of this new religious activism. Finally, it demonstrates why the deaths of so many religious-based social justice activists forced the institutional Catholic Church to reexamine its outdated criteria for martyrdom.

A Tale of Two Priests and Two Struggles: Liberation Theology from Dictatorship to Democracy in the Brazilian Northeast

2007 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 409-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Hoffman French
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
The State ◽  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
Military Dictatorship ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
Brazilian Northeast ◽  
Theology Of Liberation

Land for the landless, food for the hungry, literacy for the uneducated—not through charitable works, but by forcing the state to take seriously its responsibilities to its poorest citizens. This was integral to the theology of liberation as it was practiced by bishops, priests, and nuns in Brazil beginning shortly after the close of the Second Vatican Council in 1965. Important sectors of the Brazilian Catholic Church were “opting for the poor” at a time when economic development, modernization, and democracy were not considered appropriate or meaningful partners in the repressive environment characterized by the Brazilian military dictatorship (1964-1985).

scholarly journals PENSAMENTO DECOLONIAL, TEOLOGIAS PÓS-COLONIAIS E TEOLOGIA DA LIBERTAÇÃO

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo Agostinho Nogueira Baptista
Keyword(s):  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
Catholic Action ◽  
Decolonial Theory ◽  
Prophetic Voice ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church

RESUMO: A Teologia da Libertação – TdL nasceu num contexto de opressão, buscando ser voz profética e produzindo ação transformadora, como resposta à indignação ética diante da opressão de milhões de latino-americanos. A TdL, a partir da renovação presente na Ação Católica Especializada e seus militantes (1950-1960), alimentada pelo Concílio Vaticano II (1962-1965) e a corajosa mudança iniciada por Medellín (1968), enfrentou o desafio de ser uma teologia “fonte”, recuperando a memória dos pais da Igreja, colhendo os frutos da renovação conduzida pela Nouvelle Théologie (1935-1960), e deixando de ser uma teologia “reflexo” (VAZ). Ganhou o mundo, com os novos sujeitos e os desafios da diversidade. E o espírito que esteve sempre presente na TdL foi e continua a ser de uma teologia que luta contra toda forma de opressão, de colonialismo, inclusive da própria teologia, vigilante sobre a libertação dela própria, como alertava Juan Luis Segundo (1978). Refletida já há algumas décadas, está cada vez mais em pauta a teoria decolonial. O que ela significa, qual sua genealogia e suas ideias? E que visão crítica ela traz para a reflexão teológica? Emergem também hoje as Teologias pós-coloniais. Que críticas elas fazem à TdL? Este artigo, a partir de pesquisa bibliográfica, objetiva refletir sobre o pensamento decolonial, sobre esse pensamento e a TdL, as críticas da Teologia Pós-colonial à TdL, as reações, implicações e perspectivas teológicas dessas concepções para a teologia latino-americana.ABSTRACT: Liberation Theology – LT was born in a context of oppression, with the goal of being a prophetic voice and producing transformative actions, as a response to the ethical indignation caused by the oppression of millions of Latin Americans. The LT, from the renovation present in the Specialized Catholic Action and its members (1950-1960), fed by the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and the brave change initiated by Medellín (1968), faced the challenge of being a “source” theology, recovering the memory of the fathers of the Church, reaping the fruits of the renewal brought on by the Nouvelle Théologie (1935-1960), and ceasing to be a theology of “reflection” (VAZ). It gained the world, with new subjects and the challenges of diversity. And the spirit that has always been present in the LT was and always will be one of a theology that fights against all forms of oppression, of colonialism, including the one from theology itself, always watching its own liberation, as was warned by Juan Luis Segundo (1978). Having been thought of for a few decades already, the decolonial theory is currently more studied than ever. In this regard, the following questions arise: What does it mean? What their genealogies and ideas are about? What sort of criticism does it pose to theological reflection? Currently Postcolonial Theologies emerge. What criticism do they pose to Liberation Theology? From bibliographic research, this article aims to reflect on the decolonial thought, on the relationship between that thought and liberation theology, on the criticism of Postcolonial Theology to liberation theology, as well as the reactions, implications and theological perspectives of these concepts to the Latin American theology.

Liberation Theology

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario I. Aguilar
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Catholic Priest ◽  
Ernesto Cardenal ◽  
Peasant Communities ◽  
Experience Of God ◽  
Gustavo Gutierrez ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Impact

This chapter identifies theologies of sacraments in the context of liberation theology, rooted primarily in work among poor Christians in 1960s Latin America. In doing so it addresses the “first step” (“the experience of God through the poor and the marginalized”) and the “second step” (“the historical and theological developments that led to the beginnings of liberation theology as a reflection on Christian experience”). The seminal work in liberation theology developed by Gustavo Gutiérrez and Juan Luis Segundo is described, as is the impact of the 1968 Latin American Bishops Conference in Medellin. In addition, the work of Ernesto Cardenal, a Nicaraguan Catholic priest, poet, and politician, in viewing the Eucharist in connection to the prophetic work of Jesus Christ among the poor is examined—specifically in the context of celebrating Eucharist in the Nicaraguan peasant communities of the archipelago of Solentiname.

The Catholic Lay Movement in Peru: 1867-1959

1983 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey L. Klaiber
Keyword(s):  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Vatican Ii ◽  
Upper Class ◽  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
Political Climate ◽  
Recent Scholarship ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Church

The dramatic changes in the Latin American church since the Second Vatican Council have taken many observers by surprise. In search of an explanation for these changes, much recent scholarship has devoted itself to analyzing the changing political climate, the influx of foreign religious personnel, the creation of radical priests' groups, the impact of Vatican II itself and the episcopal assemblies of Medellín and Puebla and, of course, the varying currents of liberation theology. In contrast, the tendency has been to overlook pre-Vatican II history. The pre-conciliar Peruvian church in particular has been characterized as tradition-bound, obscurantist or subservient to the upper classes. One author writing in the early seventies stated:“The intimacy between the church and the Peruvian upper class has been an unvarying characteristic of colonial, post-independence and modern eras in Peru.”

scholarly journals PENSAMENTO DECOLONIAL, TEOLOGIAS PÓS-COLONIAIS E TEOLOGIA DA LIBERTAÇÃO

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 491
Author(s):  
Paulo Agostinho Nogueira Baptista
Keyword(s):  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
Catholic Action ◽  
Decolonial Theory ◽  
Prophetic Voice ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church

RESUMO: A Teologia da Libertação – TdL nasceu num contexto de opressão, buscando ser voz profética e produzindo ação transformadora, como resposta à indignação ética diante da opressão de milhões de latino-americanos. A TdL, a partir da renovação presente na Ação Católica Especializada e seus militantes (1950-1960), alimentada pelo Concílio Vaticano II (1962-1965) e a corajosa mudança iniciada por Medellín (1968), enfrentou o desafio de ser uma teologia “fonte”, recuperando a memória dos pais da Igreja, colhendo os frutos da renovação conduzida pela Nouvelle Théologie (1935-1960), e deixando de ser uma teologia “reflexo” (VAZ). Ganhou o mundo, com os novos sujeitos e os desafios da diversidade. E o espírito que esteve sempre presente na TdL foi e continua a ser de uma teologia que luta contra toda forma de opressão, de colonialismo, inclusive da própria teologia, vigilante sobre a libertação dela própria, como alertava Juan Luis Segundo (1978). Refletida já há algumas décadas, está cada vez mais em pauta a teoria decolonial. O que ela significa, qual sua genealogia e suas ideias? E que visão crítica ela traz para a reflexão teológica? Emergem também hoje as Teologias pós-coloniais. Que críticas elas fazem à TdL? Este artigo, a partir de pesquisa bibliográfica, objetiva refletir sobre o pensamento decolonial, sobre esse pensamento e a TdL, as críticas da Teologia Pós-colonial à TdL, as reações, implicações e perspectivas teológicas dessas concepções para a teologia latino-americana.ABSTRACT: Liberation Theology – LT was born in a context of oppression, with the goal of being a prophetic voice and producing transformative actions, as a response to the ethical indignation caused by the oppression of millions of Latin Americans. The LT, from the renovation present in the Specialized Catholic Action and its members (1950-1960), fed by the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and the brave change initiated by Medellín (1968), faced the challenge of being a “source” theology, recovering the memory of the fathers of the Church, reaping the fruits of the renewal brought on by the Nouvelle Théologie (1935-1960), and ceasing to be a theology of “reflection” (VAZ). It gained the world, with new subjects and the challenges of diversity. And the spirit that has always been present in the LT was and always will be one of a theology that fights against all forms of oppression, of colonialism, including the one from theology itself, always watching its own liberation, as was warned by Juan Luis Segundo (1978). Having been thought of for a few decades already, the decolonial theory is currently more studied than ever. In this regard, the following questions arise: What does it mean? What their genealogies and ideas are about? What sort of criticism does it pose to theological reflection? Currently Postcolonial Theologies emerge. What criticism do they pose to Liberation Theology? From bibliographic research, this article aims to reflect on the decolonial thought, on the relationship between that thought and liberation theology, on the criticism of Postcolonial Theology to liberation theology, as well as the reactions, implications and theological perspectives of these concepts to the Latin American theology.

scholarly journals IDENTIDAD DE LA TEOLOGÍA LATINOAMERICA Y LA TEOLOGÍA DE LA LIBERACIÓN

2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Jorge Costadoat Carrasco
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Theological Method ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Age Of Maturity ◽  
The Status ◽  
Original Speech ◽  
America Latina ◽  
The Church

RESUMEN: El objetivo de esta investigación es suministrar argumentos para identificar la Teología latinoamericana con la Teología de la liberación, y viceversa. Entre estos argumentos se debe considerar la conciencia de alcanzar la “mayoría de edad” de la Iglesia en América Latina en el postconcilio; la convicción de los teólogos de la liberación de estar elaborando una “nueva manera” de hacer teo­logía; una toma de distancia del carácter ilustrado de la teología; y la posibilidad de reconocer en los acontecimientos regionales, particularmente en los pobres, un habla original de Dios. Este artículo pretende hacer una contribución al status quaestionis del método teológico.ABSTRACT: The objective of this paper is to provide arguments to identify Latin American Theology with Liberation Theology, and vice versa. Among these arguments, one should consider the awareness of the Church in Latin America reaching its “age of maturity” in the post-conciliar period. Other arguments are the conviction of liberation theologians to be elaborating a “new way” of doing theology; a distance from the illustrated characteristic of theology; and, the possibility of recognizing in regional events, particularly in the poor, God’s original speech. This article aims to contribute to the status quaestionis of the theological method.

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