Indigenous and Roman Catholic Canonizations of Nicholas Black Elk: Postcolonial Issues and Implications of Black Elk Speaks

This article explores questions surrounding the status and teachings of Nick Black Elk, in dialogue with certain postcolonial and decoloniality theorists, as well as with commentators on Black Elk’s spirituality. It highlights liberation spirituality and theology in analyzing the religious hybridity of Black Elk and his actions of decoloniality. It also shows how Black Elk’s recent nomination for Roman Catholic canonization might continue to support certain shifts in various areas of Christian spirituality in light of Lakota influences: to respectful approaches to visionary mysticism and dreams; to positive affirmations of embodied spirituality; to ecological connections, consciousness and responsibility; and to a transformed sense of spiritual intimacy with nature.

50 años de historia espiritual con la opción por los pobres

Medellín fue el momento fundante de la espiritualidad y la teología de la liberación, y su elemento más característico: la opción por los pobres. Los 50 años transcurridos han sido de una espiritualidad muy intensa, por el surgimiento de una nueva eclesialidad, la asunción de la conflictividad inherente al seguimiento de Jesús, una mística martirial... El Autor subraya el carácter espiritual de esta historia, recordando momentos memorables, como la visión sociológico-utópica de Gottwald, el final de la “arqueologia bíblica” clásica, la superación del carácter provinciano de la teología cristiana de la liberación, la apertura al horizonte de la ecologia profunda... y el encuentro reciente con los últimos nuevos paradigmas, que muestran que esta aventura espiritual tiene todavía mucho quehacer por delante.Abstract: Medellín was the founding moment of liberation spirituality and theology, and its most characteristic element: the option for the poor. These 50 years have been of a very intense spirituality, because of the emergence of a new ecclesiality, the assumption of the inherent conflictivity of the following of Jesus, the martyrial mystic... The author emphasizes the spiritual character of this journey, recalling memorable moments, like the sociological-utopian vision of Gottwald, the end of classical “biblical archeology”, the overcoming of the parochial character of the ‘Christian’ theology of liberation, the opening to the horizon of deep ecology ... and the recent encounter with the last new paradigms, which show that this spiritual adventure still has much to do ahead.Keywords: Medellín; Spirituality of liberation; Theology of liberation; Option for the poor; Paradigms.

Liberating Oppressors: The Toughest Task of Full Reconciliation

The process of reconciliation is necessarily centered on the victim. But Jürgen Moltmann rightly states that, “Oppression always has two sides. ” Insofar as one can envision the tasks of liberation and reconciliation to be at least parallel, a premise that this paper acknowledges, then liberation too must be forward thinking. To redeem the past, Moltmann argued that we must not only seek the liberation of the oppressed, but also the liberation of the oppressor. The preferential option for the victim is indeed necessary, but so too is the transformation of the oppressor. While this application of liberation on the side of the oppressor is not always warmly received by liberation thinkers, Jon Sobrino also stated the need for a continued openness to the oppressor as essential to reconciliation and the liberation spirituality. This paper will draw on theological, literary, and historical sources as well as current events to explore the status of this sometimes controversial question of the liberation of the oppressor and its place within the goal of reconciliation.