Liberation theology takes a very different view of the causes of violence and conflict in our world from Church theology or state theology. The capitalist economic system which inevitably divides people into rich and poor is denounced in Liberation theology as anti-Christian and anti-human.
Liberation theology’s main focus is the plight of the poor in a world of plenty, the oppression of indigenous peoples and the oppression of women. It is also concerned with the urgent need to Care for God’s Creation. That brings those who support liberation theology into conflict with the political establishment and sometimes also with the religious establishment.
Church theology focusses on God and the next world and is preoccupied with personal sin while ignoring the more serious social sin of injustice, the oppression of the poor and of women and the destruction of the Environment.
Liberation theology focusses on the root causes of violence in society and distinguishes between primary and secondary violence. It states clearly that State violence is the Primary violence that often brings about revolutionary violence.
Liberation theology focuses on setting the oppressed free from the drudgery of economic oppression and human degradation. The process begins with consciousness -raising which leads to direct non-violent action like boycotts, strikes, protest marches etc. Liberation theology encourages and facilitates people of faith to organise for change based on a radical reading of the Scriptures. It is not interested in status quo peace.
State theology focusses on law and order and keeping the peace at all costs based on a total misreading of the Scriptures.
Liberation theology was officially launched in 1971, when Fr Gustavo Gutierrez from Lima, Peru, published his first book entitled A Theology of Liberation. Gustavo, who came from a poor background in Lima, studied theology in Leuven, Belgium and while there became aware of some new theological thinking which was termed ‘political theology’. J.B. Metz was one of the foremost thinkers and writers of this new radical theology. Much of the new theology was based on new thinking about social justice and the oppression of the poor found in the documents of the Second Vatican Council.
The new liberation theology, so clearly presented by Gustavo Gutierrez, was adopted by many Bishops and priests in South American countries –especially in Brazil. Cardinal Arns and Archbishop Helder Camara led the way and did much to promote the Church of the poor in their dioceses in Sao Paulo and Recife in Brazil.
In Central American countries -El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala -many priests and Religious adopted Liberation theology in parishes where they worked with the poor. They formed Basic Christian Communities to come together in small groups to read and reflect on the Scriptures from the point of view of the poor and oppressed. The proponents of liberation theology were regarded by various governments and by the US government, especially when Reagan was president, as enemies of the State and of the United States. Reagan’s government backed the Contras in Nicaragua.
Practitioners of liberation theology were seen as a threat to the capitalist status quo and were labelled ‘communists’. Some were killed by State forces or by agents acting on the orders of the State rulers and military chiefs. When Archbishop Romero of San Salvador was assassinated in 1990, it was alleged by the rich and powerful that he was too sympathetic to those people and priests who were active in defending the poor. He was identified with the armed rebellion. Archbishop Romero had denounced the US supported government in El Salvador and the military for attacking the poor and Catholic priests who worked with them.
None of the Irish bishops, in the decades since the Second Vatican Council, has ever espoused Liberation theology. They have never, as an influential group, shown any interest. Very few priests, based in Ireland, have been influenced by liberation theology nor were they persuaded by the poverty and injustices they saw in their parishes. It was clear they were not going to ‘rock the boat’. Many Irish missionaries in south and Central America were deeply influenced by the Church’s preferential option for the poor and devoted their lives to opposing the injustices of the various governments.
The best known Irish based priests who were most influenced by the radical theology of liberation were Frs Des Wilson, Maurice Burke and Denis Carroll. These contributed in different ways to building a new kind of Church of the poor. Fr Des left the Church system before he was expelled and set up a small Community project in an impoverished part of West Belfast. His main aim was to empower the people.Denis Carroll and Maurice Burke wrote many fine articles and books and spoke out on many occasions about the need for a different approach to injustice. Another missionary priest Fr Donal Dorr from St Patrick’s Missionaries, Kiltegan, has written many fine books and articles about his experience in Africa.
The main Irish seminaries like Maynooth steered well clear of liberation theology so that it has had little impact on the thinking and practice of the Irish clergy. This is regrettable because the Catholic faithful in Ireland have been deprived of a new and radical insight into the Christian faith. A small number of Catholics in some parishes have been influenced through their own experience of poverty and often after meeting with and listening to Irish missionaries who returned from South and Central America. I think of Mary Nelis and Des Boyle both from Derry -both of whom espoused liberation theology many years ago. They have been influential in their different ways in making the Christian faith relevant in the most impoverished and deprived situations in Derry and beyond.
The new liberation thinking has had an influence in organisations like Trocaire where the emphasis has changed from charity to justice. However, without the endorsement of the Irish Catholic bishops the influence of liberation theology on the practice of the Church in Ireland will remain peripheral. It is a great pity because this is the only way to bring new life to the Irish Church and appeal to the young generation of those searching for a spiritual meaning for their lives. The people who have lived in darkness could learn a lot from a new reading of the Scriptures from the viewpoint of the poor.
If the Irish Catholic hierarchy were to make an option for the poor it might be one way to bring about radical change in the political life of Ireland. Two conservative parties have been in power since the foundation of the Southern 26 county state. The division between rich and poor continues to deepen. In the North the two traditions have agreed to work together until a Border referendum is held.
If the Irish Catholic hierarchy were to make a preferential option for the poor and the homeless in Ireland it would show clearly how relevant Christianity is today. They could also set an example by divesting of much of the property it owns and giving to the poor in accordance with the Gospel.
This is the only way forward for the Catholic church in Ireland. It is the only way that the Christian faith will become interesting and relevant for the present generation and for the generations to come. This opportunity should not be missed while there are still some in the Church ready and willing to make it happen -if only they were encouraged by the Church leaders.
There is so much wealth in Ireland (and the whole world) but it is held by the few. I volunteer for a charity and see poverty first hand, poverty comes in many ways, physical, psychological and spiritual to name a few, it’s not all about food on the table and dry feet but hunger in any country is unacceptable. Technology enables us to see and know first hand the horrors being perpetrated in our beautiful world and its peoples by so called humans but it has also in some way made us blind and deaf, like we are watching a movie, we have become immune to the horror. Governments MUST stop the genocide, MUST provide shelter and sustenance for all in it’s care. Life for all of us is short and I do believe there will be a reckoning either in this life or the next
The theatrical admonishment of Bishops on various airport tarmacs who espoused liberation theology by John Paul the second (no doubt down the his actor days) was a major setback to progress in the church. It heralded a strong right wing conservatism that reverberates to this day with devastating consequences. It is too late for change in the church an iron fist dogmaticism has made that impossible.
Correction: Archbishop Romero was assassinated in 1980.
Over thirty years ago, I first became aware of the works of Paulo Freire and Fr Leonardo Buff who promoted the ideas of a critical pedagogy (teaching) that encompasses the belief that education needs to foster in students a practice of examining power structures within our societies and thus bring about through the process of conscientização, an awareness of the sources of oppression and resistance to same. Indeed, Freire was invited by Gutierrez to analyse the connections between emancipatory education and liberation theology and how one may aid the other. The Catholic church is in decline as many see it today as a source of oppression. We have seen much evidence of this. I believe Joe McVeigh is correct in saying the church needs a breath of new life to attract young people who seek spirituality. That new breath is liberation theology and Freire’s ideas are ones to inspire those educators who believe in social justice and equality for all people, not just the power elites.
It is no surprise that Friere’s ideas are currently under attack from the fascist, Bolsonaro in Brazil, who happens to be a cheerleader for Donald Trump. That says much.