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Liberation theology finds some liberation?

22 Sep 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The first reading this Sunday makes clear that the God of Israel cares about the fate of those who are poor. Echoing that concern, Pope Francis has called on the Catholic Church to be “a poor church for the poor.” A progressive theological current that emphasizes the church’s closeness to the poor and the marginalized but was subject to decades of hostility and censure is now finding increasing favor in the Vatican under Francis, who has made plans to meet with Peruvian theologian and Dominican friar Gustavo Gutierrez, considered the founder of liberation theology.The announcement for the meeting came on Sept. 8 from Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), the Vatican’s doctrinal watchdog, during the launch of the Italian edition of a book he had originally coauthored with Gutierrez in 2004.It’s a remarkable turnaround for a movement that swelled in popularity but was later suppressed during the pontificates of John Paul II and his longtime doctrinal chief, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI.Liberation theology arose as a Catholic response to the Marxist movements that fought Latin America’s military dictatorships in the 1960s and ’70s. It criticized the church’s close relations, including often overt support, with the regimes. In his highly influential 1971 book A Theology of Liberation, Gutierrez argued that the church should have a “preferential option for the poor,” following the example of Jesus.In the 1980s the Vatican’s doctrinal office, headed by Ratzinger, condemned liberation theology for its “serious ideological deviations.” Yet it was Benedict himself who appointed Mueller as his successor at the CDF, despite the fact that the latter was a well-known Gutierrez admirer.Though never an overt supporter of liberation theology, Pope Francis, the first pope from Latin America, has ushered in a new era in which liberation theology can no longer “remain in the shadows to which it has been relegated for some years, at least in Europe,” said the Vatican’s semiofficial newspaper L’Osservatore Romano.In his book written with Gutierrez, Mueller describes liberation theology as one of the “most significant currents of Catholic theology of the 20th century” which helped the church bridge the divide between “earthly happiness and ultra-earthly salvation.”During the book launch in the northern Italian city of Mantua, Mueller also announced that the Vatican doctrinal office has given the green light to proceed with the sainthood cause of Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was assassinated in 1980 for his opposition to the military dictatorship in El Salvador.Homily hint: However it is expressed, the call to live in solidarity with those who are poor as well as to work to ease the burdens of poverty go out to every Christian. How can all of us imitate God’s special consideration for the poor? Source: An article by Alessandro Speciale for Religion News Service

Pope Francis benedict xvi john paul ii gustavo gutierrez gerhard ludwig mueller liberation theology
Longtime sanction on priest lifted

17 Aug 2014 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In the universal vision of the prophet in this Sunday’s first reading, all are welcome into the house of God. Within the ranks of active clergy, that now includes a Central American priest Pope Francis has reinstated after lifting a ban dating back 29 years.The Rev. Miguel D’Escoto Brockman, 81, was suspended by the Vatican in the 1980s for his involvement in the political activities of Nicaragua’s Sandinista movement. D’Escoto recently wrote to Francis asking for that order to be revoked so he could celebrate Mass again before he died.D’Escoto and three other priests were suspended in 1985 for defying a church ban on clergy holding government jobs. The Sandinistas, who supported the “popular church” of liberation theology, overthrew the pro-American regime of Anastasio Somoza in 1979. D’Escoto served as Nicaragua’s foreign minister from 1979 to 1990.The Vatican announced August 4 that Francis had agreed to the priest’s request to lift the suspension and asked D’Escoto’s superior in the Maryknoll order to help reintroduce him to priestly ministry. Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers confirmed in a statement that the pope had agreed to remove “the canonical censure inflicted upon him,” and approved his reintegration and resumption of his priestly duties.D’Escoto was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1961. He helped found Orbis Books, the theological publication division of Maryknoll, and he was an official with the World Council of Churches. From September 2008 through September 2009, he presided over the 63rd session of the U.N. General Assembly as its president.Homily hint: The Central American conflicts of the 1980s created a lot of ideological enemies. With the passage of time and a change in leadership in the church, new beginnings are possible. Pray for all of those who serve the church, regardless of the posts they may hold. And pray for a church large enough for everyone to have a place. Source: An article by Josephine McKenna for Religion News Service

central america liberation theology
Revolutionary priest passes away

28 Feb 2016 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Saint Paul reminds readers against hubris this Sunday: “Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.” Nicaraguan dictator Gen. Anastasio Somoza Debayle apparently did not get the memo and was overthrown by a popular uprising that involved many Catholic leaders and activists in 1979. The Rev. Fernando Cardenal, 82, a revolutionary priest and member of Nicaragua’s leftist cabinet in the 1980s, died on Saturday in Managua. Cardenal oversaw a sweeping campaign that local officials credited with reducing illiteracy from 51 percent to 13 percent and was the brother of Father Ernesto Cardenal, a poet and intellectual voice of the revolution. Homily hint: The 1960s and 1970s were years of repression, upheaval, and revolution in Latin America. World powers intervened and local struggles became Cold War struggles. In the process, many legitimate aspirations of the people were crushed under the geopolitical weight of the Super Powers. Though suffering has been needlessly prolonged, the struggle for justice continues. For more: Fernando Cardenal, Nicaraguan Priest Who Defied Pope, Dies at 82

liberation theology social justice nicaragua