An Abiding Faith in Liberation Theology

[DemBones DemBones]

Very good article! I hope that Benedict XVI will take another look at liberation theology, which John Paul II turned against when it became overly Marxist in its rhetoric.

By Monte Reel
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, May 2, 2005; Page A12


SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Magno Marcieta, 28, hopes to become a priest next year, taking 11 years of quiet religious study into the poverty-stricken streets of the country with more Roman Catholics than any other.

Because he's a dedicated student, he knows his Saint Augustine and his Thomas Aquinas. Because he's from Brazil, he also knows his liberation theology.
Magno Marcieta says Brazilian seminarians are still inspired by the liberation theologians criticized in the 1980s by the Vatican cardinal who is now pope.

The movement, which took root throughout Latin America in the 1960s and 1970s, focused on helping the poor and oppressed, even if that meant confronting political powers. In the 1980s, it was blasted as a "fundamental threat" to the church by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who has now become Pope Benedict XVI. As a result of such internal criticism, the movement gradually faded.

In Brazil, though, liberation theology is far from dead.

These days, instead of preaching class struggle and defying dictators, many veterans of the movement have adapted their rhetoric and role to the times. They work to promote environmental conservation or women's rights; they help the homeless and AIDS patients.

http://tinyurl.com/dcwxf