scholarly journals The Option for the Poor and the Phenomenology of Life

Open Theology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 407-413
Author(s):  
Vincent J. Pastro
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Theological Reflection ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
People Of God ◽  
Gustavo Gutierrez ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The People ◽  
Preferential Option ◽  
Theological Task ◽  
The Church

Abstract Recently, Catholic teaching and theology have given much attention to “the preferential option for the poor.” Gustavo Gutierrez, OP, who has popularized the phrase, also defines theology as a “reflection on praxis in the light of the word of God.” The praxis of the option for the poor is therefore indispensable to the theological task, for theology must always be “enfleshed” and concrete in the life of the people. This is particularly the case of Latin American theology and strongly emphasized in the magisterium of Pope Francis. The option for the poor has its foundation in who God is and how God is for the people (cf Exod 3:8-15). The option for the poor is grounded in life. Michel Henry’s phenomenology of life provides a logical approach to theological reflection on poverty, justice, and solidarity with the poor. The people of God, the Church community, live the option in concrete praxis. The God of life has a special love and concern for the poor. The poor, and those in solidarity with them, mysteriously experience the divine love and grace in their everyday lives and la lucha por la vida (the struggle for life). In the living, religious experience is intimately grounded.

scholarly journals Francis’ Idea of the Church: Outline of an Ecclesiology

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-107
Author(s):  
Mark Joseph Zammit
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Church Of Christ ◽  
People Of God ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The People ◽  
Constant State ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Ideal

In the past eight years, since the election of Francis as the first Latin American pontiff in history, the Church has experienced new manners of being and acting. Even though she has also been in a constant state of aggiornamento, Francis’ vision has contributed greatly to this concept of being a perfect image of the ideal Church of Christ (cf. Ecclesiam Suam 10) and a better servant of humanity. The objective of this study is to present an outline of Francis’ main ecclesiological concepts, in the awareness that this endeavour can never be completely exhaustive. For this reason, the article is divided into two main sections. In this first one, the bedrocks of his ecclesiological thoughts are studied. These include his Jesuit vocation, the CELAM conferences and vision, and the Argentine theology of the people. In the second section, his main ecclesiological themes are analysed: the people of God, a poor Church for the poor, ecumenism, reform, and an ecological Church.

scholarly journals LA OPCIÓN TEOLÓGICO-PASTORAL DEL PAPA FRANCISCO

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 81
Author(s):  
Rafael Luciani
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Pope Francis ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The People ◽  
The Social ◽  
Cultura Popular ◽  
Preferential Option ◽  
The Relationship

Resumen: La Evangelii Gaudium y los discursos ofrecidos durante los viajes apostólicos a Latinoamérica han dejado clara la opción teológico-pastoral del Papa Francisco, cuyo eje se encuentra en torno a la opción preferencial por «una Iglesia pobre que asuma al pueblo-pobre» y, desde ahí, se deje evangelizar reconociendo el lugar teológico que tiene la cultura popular como mediación socioanalítica y de encuentro con el Dios de Jesús. Para comprender esto hay que adentrarse en el debate sociohistórico de la teología latinoamericana de la liberación y en el modo como esta fue recibida en Argentina por medio de la teología del pueblo. Así también, es necesario seguir los debates sobre la relación que ha de existir entre el anuncio del Evangelio, la vida de la Iglesia y la realidad de los pobres, según han sido expuestos desde Medellín hasta Aparecida. En el presente artículo iremos desarrollando estos ejes fundamentales en los que se inspira la opción teológico-pastoral del Papa Francisco y las consecuencias para la credibilidad de la comunidad cristiana en la era globalizada.Abstract: The Evangelii Gaudium and the speeches offered during the Papal Apostolic Journeys to Latin America made more clear the theological and pastoral option of Pope Francis, whose axis is around a preferential option for «a poor Church that assumes the poor-people». A Church that recognizes the theological locus of the popular culture, as a socio-analytic mediation to encounter the God of Jesus. To understand this, it is mandatory to examine the social and historical debates occasioned by Latin American Liberation Theology and the way it was received in Argentina through the so called «Theology of the People». It will also be necessary to follow the discussions on the relationship between the proclamation of the Gospel, the life of the Church and the reality of the poor, as they have been stated from Medellin and San Miguel to Aparecida. In this article we will study those key areas and topics in which Pope Francis has developed his theological-pastoral option and its consequences for the credibility of the Christian community in a globalized era.

Die kerk in die Nuwe Testament

1995 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
G. M.M. Pelser
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
People Of God ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The People ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
In Christ ◽  
The Church

The church in the New Testament The article explores the documents of the New Testament in search of the concept church' and finds that,  in a nutshell, the answers are as follows: the  Spirit-controlled, charismatic togetherness of people 'in Christ' (Paul); cross-bearing followers of Jesus (Mk); the people of God on their way through history (Lk-Ac); the faithful locked in battle with Satanic powers, but with the expectation of occupying the heavenly Jerusalem (Rv); the  community with which Christ became solidary, and which is heading for its heavenly place of rest (Reb); the poor but pious community, putting their faith into practice (Ja); the body of Christ in which his universal reign can be experienced (Col); the sphere in which salvation is  realized (Eph); disciples following Jesus as God-with us, experiencing the  rift between synagogue and church (Mt); friends and confidants of Christ, living at loggerheads with the synagogue (In); the household of God, governed by householders (Pastorals); and the socia-ly ostracized elect of God whose way of life should be a demonstration of their otherness as Christians (1 Pt).

Liberation Theology in Latin America

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew A. Shadle
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Historical Reality ◽  
Gustavo Gutierrez ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Preferential Option ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Political Turmoil ◽  
The Church

This chapter examines the emergence of liberation theology in Latin America. It offers three cases studies illustrating the economic and political turmoil in Latin America in the 1960s and 1970s: Chile, Brazil, and El Salvador. The chapter then turns to the theology of two prominent liberation theologians, Gustavo Gutiérrez and Ignacio Ellacuría. Gutiérrez proposes that God calls us to make a preferential option for the poor, and to work for integral liberation in history. Similarly, Ellacuría explains that God offers his salvation in history, and the church is called to realize the Reign of God in the midst of historical reality, siding with the “crucified people” with whom Jesus identifies.

Theologies of Liberation

2015 ◽  
pp. 802-819
Author(s):  
Roberto Goizueta
Keyword(s):  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Vatican Ii ◽  
Catholic Action ◽  
Gustavo Gutierrez ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Preferential Option ◽  
The Third World ◽  
Early Influences ◽  
Do So

The term ‘theologies of liberation’ refers to a global theological movement that emerged in the 1950s and 1960s among Christians working for justice among the poor of the Third World. Most systematically articulated, initially, by Latin American theologians such as the Peruvian priest Gustavo Gutiérrez, liberation theology is rooted in the Gospel claim that Jesus Christ is identified in a special way with the poor and marginalized of our world. Early influences on the emergence of liberation theology in Latin America included: the Catholic Action movement, base ecclesial communities, Vatican II (especially Gaudium et spes), and the Medellín Conference of 1968. The central insight of liberation theologies is that, because God makes a ‘preferential option for the poor’, we are called to do so as well; if Christ is identified with the marginalized, the lives of the poor is the privileged locus for practising Christian theological reflection.

A socio-linguistic approach to the latin middle ages

1975 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 69-82
Author(s):  
Michael Richter
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Fundamental Difference ◽  
Main Concern ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
People Of God ◽  
Intellectual Elite ◽  
The People ◽  
Political Relationship ◽  
Linguistic Approach ◽  
The Church

There are two lights, a greater and a smaller one, that is to say, the wiser men and the less wise; the day signifies the wise men, and the night the uninformed. The greater light illuminates the day, for the wiser men instruct those who are more able. What is Augustine if not a sun in the Church? to whom does he speak if not to the wise? You, however, the priests, knowing less, are the smaller light, you illuminate the night, for you preside over the laity who do not know the Scripture and remain in the darkness of ignorance ... The other section of the clergy who do not preside over the people of God are the stars, because although they cannot shine by doctrine, do nevertheless shine by their work onto the earth, that is, the Church.These sentences are taken from an anonymous sermon ‘On the Priesthood’, based on Genesis i, 16–20. The author of the sermon showed the priests their place in society: even though they did not belong to the intellectual elite, their profession and knowledge separated them clearly from the darkness of night in which the laity was imprisoned. In the course of the twelfth century, this passage from Genesis underwent an exegetical change and was used, from then onwards, to explain the political relationship between regnum and sacerdotium. What did remain was the notion of a fundamental difference between clergy and laity, and nowhere was this notion better expressed than in our sermon to the priests: quodcunque lumen estis, lumen estis tamen. In true medieval fashion, our author equated knowledge with the knowledge of the Word of God. He also stressed the fundamental difference between light and darkness, between the clergy and the laity. While theology emphasises that ordination makes the clergy by virtue of its office into the mediator between God and man, this was not the main concern of our author. Instead, he voiced the belief, widely shared by the clergy generally, that knowledge as such was the prerogative of the clergy. Such an attitude raises the question of how the clergy was able to achieve monopoly of knowledge, and how it reacted to attempts by the laity to challenge this monopoly. In what follows I propose to enquire into this phenomenon by looking at the linguistic scene in the medieval west.

Catholic Laity in the Latin American Church

2020 ◽  
pp. 505-521
Author(s):  
Robert S. Pelton
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Vatican Ii ◽  
Pastoral Theology ◽  
Contextual Theology ◽  
People Of God ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
The People ◽  
The Church

Before Vatican II, pastoral theology reflected a clear distinction between the ordained and non-ordained members of the Church, but a gradual nuancing of this issue was taking place in Latin America as early as the 1950s. In those areas, there had been rather intensive study of “modern” European theologians. Through their writings and pastoral visits to the region of America, these progressive European theologians began to strongly influence Latin American theology —especially in Chile and Brazil. This influence was shown through the beginnings of small Christian communities, and through an emphasis on doing “contextual” theology. This is a theology that emphasizes the experiential in the light of tradition, which eventually led to Latin American liberation theology. The Church of Latin America has long been a leader in innovations that incorporate the role of Scripture in everyday life: the preferential and evangelizing option for the poor, small Christian communities (also known as CEBs or BECs), lay apostolates and lay missionaries, and other endeavors to put the Church at service to the People of God. “Laying boots on the ground” has become truly essential to carrying out the Church’s mission in the world and pastoral ambience contributes strongly to this growing appreciation of the Catholic laity. Combined with the importance of theologically reflecting within the context of regional realities, this approach can provide hope for a challenged but youthful and vibrant Catholic Church of Latin America.

scholarly journals Is die idee van ’n kerkorde nog kerklik byderwets?

2008 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. Smit
Keyword(s):  
Church History ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
People Of God ◽  
The Real ◽  
The People ◽  
Church Law ◽  
The Church ◽  
New Millennium

Is the idea of a church order still relevant for the modern church? The question is whether church order could be of any sig- nificance for the church of our time. Should the church order be modernised to fit the church of a new millennium? Is the con- cept of a church order at all still feasible for the modern church?   Where does the idea of a church order come from? This article shows that the concept of a church order originated from the Scriptures, the Old and the New Testaments. Throughout church history there was always the danger that where the church order became insignificant, the existence of the church itself came under threat.  The real questions are what a church order ought not to be and what it ought to be. This article determined that the church or- der has no independent authority. The church order should not be rendered as a church law. In fact, the church order should be only the principle-bearing pointer to the Word of God. In itself the church order has no own authority. It is only a servant of the authority of the Word. As such a Scripture-bound church order is indispensable for the existence of the church, also the church of our time. The nature of such a church order is not to create the services of the church, nor the essence of church being, but to ensure the task of the church to proclaim the Word of God and to protect the solemn being of the church in its orderly existence as the people of God in this world.

Joseph Ratzinger

2018 ◽  
pp. 448-466
Author(s):  
Theodor Dieter
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Local Churches ◽  
People Of God ◽  
The People ◽  
The World ◽  
Joseph Ratzinger ◽  
The Church ◽  
Point Of Reference

Ratzinger’s ecclesiology is a Eucharistic ecclesiology: the church is the people of God existing from the sacramental Body of Christ and thus becoming the ecclesial Body of Christ. Therefore the church is communio: the communion at the table with Christ and among the believers, and also a communion of local churches (communio ecclesiarum) that is the basis for the collegiality of the bishops. The spiritual and institutional dimensions of the Body of Christ are mutually interwoven. In every particular church the universal church is present; its representation and the point of reference in doctrinal matters for all is the pope. The church serves the presence of the Word of God in the world in such a way that the Word as it is witnessed to in Holy Scripture is communicated to all by authorized witnesses. Witness (content) and witnesses are inseparable, as succession and tradition are mutually interrelated as form and content.

The Kingdom: Preferential Option for the Poor

1982 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-68
Author(s):  
Marcella Hoesl
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Religious Community ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The World ◽  
Preferential Option ◽  
Missionary Service ◽  
The Church

Ever since the Latin American bishops conference in Puebla, Mexico said that the church is called to have a “preferential option” for the poor, we have been grappling with what that means concretely for the Christian community. Here Dr. Hoesl shares important insights on this subject drawn from the experience of her religious community and her missionary service around the world.

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