- Each month the team working on this catechism presents you
with two texts, and we hope that with your help and cooperation
they will improve. Any suggestions you may have would be most
welcome, as would ideas on subject matter.
- We look forward to hearing from you.
The Theology of Liberation
First we think about Latin America. Then in Asia there are
those who highlight the religious pluralism. Without a dialogue
with the other religions we cannot promote justice.
There are those from Africa who insist to incorporate religion
into the local culture. Cultural oppression in Africa has raised
a search for cultural identity.
Women are beginning to collectively understand how much they
are limited in their rights in society as well in the Church.
They begin to analyze their own experience with the tools of
the theology because as women they have no right to speak, are
excluded and considered as a normal minority on the edge of the
society.
But the theologies of liberation have their roots in Latin America.
They have grown there in an environment of a liberation movement
from political dictatorship and economic oppression.
They came to exist in Medellin (Colombia) in 1986 during the
Bishops' Conference of Latin America, since then, Medellin is
always a reference that cannot be missed. Gustavo Gutierrez,
a theologian from Peru, is considered as their founder.
The fundamental aspect of these theologies comes from where they
originated: the world of the poor and of the persecuted. They
represent an historical practice shaped by human beings, a shift
from a consumer status of religious goods to the status of an
"actor" in the Church. One sees then the birth of the
"communautés de base" groups of believers animated
by laymen and laywomen, where the word of God is vital, with
new forms of ministry, with a creative liturgy; they will start
a new way of behavior in the Church.
The theologies of liberation start from the humanity of Christ:
" The Word was made flesh" said St. John. They emphasize
the young prophet from Nazareth, the historical Jesus, living
in our world. It is why they insist on the central role of the
Kingdom of God in the preaching of Jesus, on his choice of the
humble people, on the historical origins of his death.
When the oppressed people discern their own dignity and their
ability to liberate themselves, they become a danger to the political
power and the establishment. Repression of the supporters of
these theologies will not be delayed and it will be applied in
the name of the national security. There will be warnings from
Rome. But as long as the poor are oppressed, the theologies of
liberation will continue to exist.