The Social Good of a Sacramental Ecclesiology: De Lubac, Liberation Theology, and Progress

Joseph Flipper has recently charged Henri de Lubac with a failure to extend notions of sacramental significance beyond the liturgical fellowship of the Church. This apparent restriction is displayed most prominently in de Lubac’s reservations about liberation theology and programs of “progress.” This article examines de Lubac’s criticisms of – and convergences with – liberation theology, with a focus on the work of Gustavo Gutiérrez, who admits the influence of de Lubac on his own thought and offers a somewhat different version of a sacramental ecclesiology. I show that considering the socio-political and post-conciliar context of de Lubac’s work can inform a proper understanding such differences and convergences. While de Lubac certainly maintains an ecclesial center in his political theology, he is clearly concerned about the pursuit of the social good beyond the Church. I conclude that the inconsistency perceived by Flipper is mitigated by these considerations, and by reading de Lubac’s later comments on progress and liberation in the light of his earlier efforts in resisting anti-Semitism and racist nationalism

The Social Good of a Sacramental Ecclesiology: De Lubac, Liberation Theology, and Progress

Joseph Flipper has recently charged Henri de Lubac with a failure to extend notions of sacramental significance beyond the liturgical fellowship of the Church. This apparent restriction is displayed most prominently in de Lubac’s reservations about liberation theology and programs of “progress.” This article examines de Lubac’s criticisms of – and convergences with – liberation theology, with a focus on the work of Gustavo Gutiérrez, who admits the influence of de Lubac on his own thought and offers a somewhat different version of a sacramental ecclesiology. I show that considering the socio-political and post-conciliar context of de Lubac’s work can inform a proper understanding such differences and convergences. While de Lubac certainly maintains an ecclesial center in his political theology, he is clearly concerned about the pursuit of the social good beyond the Church. I conclude that the inconsistency perceived by Flipper is mitigated by these considerations, and by reading de Lubac’s later comments on progress and liberation in the light of his earlier efforts in resisting anti-Semitism and racist nationalism.

The Solved Conflict: Pope Francis and Liberation Theology

The battle for meaning and influence between Latin American liberations theologians and the Vatican was one of the most significant conflicts in the global Catholic church of the twentieth century. With the election of the Argentinean Jorge Mario Bergoglio as head of the global church in 2013, the question about the legacy of liberation theology was actualized. The canonization of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the pope’s approximation to the public figure of Gustavo Gutiérrez signaled a new approach to the liberation theology movement in the Vatican. This article argues that Pope Francis shares some of the main theological concerns as pontiff with liberation theology. Although the pope remains an outsider to liberation theology, he has in a sense solved the conflict between the Vatican and the Latin American social movement. Through an analysis of ecclesial documents and theological literature, his can be discerned on three levels. First, Pope Francis’ use of certain theological ideas from liberation theology has been made possible and less controversial by post-cold war contexts. Second, Pope Francis has contributed to the solution of this conflict through significant symbolic gestures rather than through a shift of official positions. Third, as Pope Francis, the Argentinian Jorge Mario Bergoglio has appropriated certain elements that are specific to liberation theology without acknowledging his intellectual debt to it.

Vigencia de la teología latinoamericana de la liberación: a cinco décadas de su origen

En este artículo se da cuenta de aquello que perdura como novedoso de la teología latinoamericana de la liberación a cinco décadas de sus comienzos. El texto sitúa a esta teología en continuidad y como expresión de la recepción latinoamericana del Concilio Vaticano II. Los teólogos de la liberación han convenido en pensar que en Medellín, 1968, comenzó una apropiación creativa del Concilio, que consistió, en pocas palabras, en una opción por los pobres. El caso es que, si en los comienzos esta teología puso el énfasis en la necesidad de hacer cambios sociales y económicos estructurales en sociedades injustas, con el correr del tiempo ha descubierto la importancia de los pobres como sujetos de su reflexión y liberación. Ha sido muy significativo, en este sentido, descubrir el enorme valor de la lectura popular de la Biblia realizada en las comunidades eclesiales de base. Este artículo revisa, por lo mismo, el método de la teología de la liberación. Con el correr de los años se ha hecho necesario actualizar el planteamiento de Gustavo Gutiérrez para precisar lo esencial e incorporar el aporte, por ejemplo, de la teología feminista y de la teología india. Estas, bien distintas en cuanto a sus sujetos y temáticas, comparten sin embargo el ser teologías inductivas de colectivos que descubren su opresión. En una última sección, el artículo describe la que sería una novedad mayor, la concepción de la revelación. Varios teólogos no solo acogen el círculo hermenéutico de las teologías contextuales, sino que postulan que Dios continúa revelándose en el presente histórico con una Palabra nueva, la que se hace oír en el clamor de los pobres por su liberación.

Ein virtueller Spaziergang durch kirchliche Bibliotheken im deutschen Sprachraum und die Bibliotheken des Vatikans

Dieser Artikel betrachtet mit ausgewählten Indikatoren der Katalogentwicklung die Bedeutung und Leistungsfähigkeit kirchlicher Bibliotheken im deutschen Sprachraum und der Bibliotheken des Vatikans. Der Artikel dokumentiert zunächst die elektronischen Zugangsmöglichkeiten zu diesen Bibliotheken und listet dann die Zahlen der Bestände mit Titelwörtern aktueller prägender Ereignisse, Begriffe und gesellschaftspolitischer Debatten des 20. und 21. Jahrhunderts auf. Da ein guter Teil der heutigen gesellschaftspolitischen Literatur auf Englisch publiziert wird, wurden englischsprachige Titel-Suchprofilworte verwendet. Die Bibliotheken wurden auch nach dem Vorhandensein der Werke von zwei für das Engagement der Weltkirche sehr prägenden Autoren getestet. Dies waren die Werke von Jules Isaac, 1877–1963, weil er jener jüdische Autor war, der zur epochalen Konzilserklärung „Nostra Aetate“ 1965 beitrug, die den kirchlichen Antisemitismus von zwei Jahrtausenden beenden sollte, und die Werke von Thomas Piketty, der heute zum Problem der Ungleichheit einen fundamentalen Beitrag leistet. Sowohl Klimawandel als auch Ungleichheit spielen im Lehramt von Papst Franziskus eine herausragende Rolle. Wir erfassen die internationale Katalogentwicklung zu den genannten Themen an Hand des OCLC Worldcat, und stellen dann fest, wieviel Promille dieser weltweiten Literatur in den kirchlichen Bibliotheken des deutschen Sprachraums, in der Vatikanbibliothek und in der Bibliothek der Jesuitenuniversität Gregoriana in Rom vorhanden ist. Der Befund ist, dass die Vatikanbibliothek und auch die Bibliotheken der Päpstlichen Universitäten nicht auf der Höhe der Zeit und – bezogen auf die internationale Katalogentwicklung – absolut mangelhaft sind. Hinzu kommt, dass die Vatikanbibliothek selbst eine Sammlung nationalsozialistischer und faschistischer Literatur besitzt, die von Adolf Hitler über Alfred Rosenberg bis zu Antonio Salazar reicht. Selbst im Kernbereich der Bibliothek des Vatikans – der Theologie – gibt es aus der Sicht einer Weltkirche, wie Papst Franziskus sie versteht, große Lücken: Nur ein einziges Buch ist vorhanden – eine Schrift mit dem Vorwort von Gustavo Gutierrez, dem bedeutendsten Vertreter der Befreiungstheologie Lateinamerikas.

Objetos-testigo. Fracturas y reconstrucciones del relato identitario

La investigación se articulará en tres movimientos: fracturas, reconstrucciones, archivos. A cada movimiento le corresponderá una diferente tipología de objetos: zapatos, clavos y vigas, ropa. El objetivo es mostrar el proceso de desfamiliarización/ refamiliarización de algunos de los objetos presentes en relatos testimoniales (Miguel Lawner, Retorno a Dawson ; Marta Dillon, Aparecida), fotográficos (Javier García, Lourdes Almeida, Gustavo Gutiérrez), artísticos y performativos (Alfredo López Casanova, Colectivo de Hijos, Elina Chauvet, Doris Salcedo). En su conjunto, se trata de objetos que declaran resistencia y resiliencia, creaciones que se oponen a la “contracreación” – así la define Primo Levi – programada por el universo concentracionario. A través de ellos, el relato autobiográfico quebrado por la detención o la desaparición vuelve a ‘ponerse en forma’ (Arfuch, 2013), a partir de la elocuencia metonímica del objeto.

Liberation Theology According to Abdurrahman Wahid and Gustavo Gutierrez

<p>This paper tells the thoughts of two religious figures who are concerned with talking about religion and humanity. These two figures are Abdurrahman Wahid and Gustavo Gutiérrez. The question that will be answered here is how the concept of the liberation of the two figures and where the difference lies and their implications for real life. The issues discussed here are related to theology, more popularly called liberation theology. The method used in this research is to read and examine the work of each of the two figures, both works that are called primary or secondary. After that, the concepts are compared according to their respective contexts. From the results of research on their works, an understanding is obtained that the theology of liberation is inspired by the real conditions of society that are of concern, both in terms of poverty and opportunity. Therefore, according to the two figures, religion must be able to solve the problem, it means that religion practised not only as a doctrine but also humanity. Action work of people who profess religion is needed to solve community problems. There are differences in the approaches of the two figures, namely Gutiérrez is more focused directly involved, while Wahid besides being directly involved, but also with a cultural approach and changing the way people think. The difference between the two approaches has implications for the process of change, namely Gutiérrez is more revolutionary mechanistic, while Wahid is more cultural and evolutionary</p>

Vozes poéticas na escuta da fragilidade dos pobres: contribuições para uma reflexão teológica sobre a mística em diálogo com a poesia de Violeta Parra

Este artigo propõe uma análise centrada no florescimento de uma "mística de olhos abertos" na América Latina ao longo do século XX, a chamada espiritualidade da libertação. Dentre os resultados da pesquisa, estão indicados elementos da mística que se revela com o sentido de "suspiro dos oprimidos", conforme a interpretação que faz Rubem Alves da conhecida expressão de Karl Marx, tecida numa interlocução com a sociologia da religião no Brasil, como fruto de uma reflexão sobre o retorno do sagrado na sociedade contemporânea. Suspiro, entretanto, que se expressa como desejo de transformação da realidade, tendo no horizonte a libertação social. Mística como indignação diante da injustiça e como força de revolução, de empoderamento dos grupos subalternos e de mudança social. Destaca-se também a mística como canal de expressão da fragilidade humana, da capacidade de alteridade e do despertamento da dimensão lúdica. Por meio de metodologia bibliográfica, esta análise oferece elementos para o debate epistemológico no âmbito dos estudos de mística que se propõem a escutar a experiência religiosa das vozes reprimidas pelo poder colonial, tendo como recurso a correspondência de perspectivas teológicas latino-americanas, especialmente as de Gustavo Gutierrez, Maria Clara Bingemer e Rubem Alves, com a poesia de Violeta Parra.

A Brief History of Theosemiotic

This chapter supplies a historical survey of theosemiotic, focused less on demonstrating actual lines of causal influence than on exposing the resonance of certain ideas articulated by thinkers sometimes far removed from each other in space and time. It links Peirce’s thought to that of earlier figures (like Augustine, Duns Scotus, John Poinsot, Jonathan Edwards, and Ralph Waldo Emerson), certain contemporaries (especially William James and Josiah Royce), and later thinkers and developments (most notably, H. Richard Niebuhr, Simone Weil, and Gustavo Gutierrez). The chapter begins with an examination of the religious significance of talk about the “book of nature” and concludes with the observation of a certain natural affinity between a theosemiotic inspired by Peirce’s pragmatism and Latin American liberation theology.