THE PREDAWN OF LIBERATION THEOLOGY 

We continue with our focus on the historical origins of Liberation Theology.  As I mentioned at the beginning of these essays, theology (God-talk) does not take place in a vacuum.  Liberation Theology, like all other theological movements and schools of thought did not emerge out of nowhere.  Like all other theologies, it had its historical beginnings and contextual emphasis.  

While focusing on the details of the origins of a particular theology might seem somewhat cumbersome and tedious, it is a necessary component of research on that theology.  In order for us to understand theological thought, we must ask ourselves "How did it all begin?" 

I will say about Liberation Theology the same thing that I say about all other theologies.  It is not "heaven-sent," and neither is it inerrant or infallible.  Liberation Theology, like all other theologies, is culturally and historically-conditioned.  Like all other theologies, it has its own set of assumptions, biases, and presuppositions.  Every theologian of liberation brings her/his prior assumptions and mindsets to the table.  Liberation Theology is by no stretch of the imagination, something that takes place "Tabula rasa (in a blank slate)."  

From 1930 to 1960, the Catholic Church experienced a theological and liturgical revival concentrated especially in the religious orders and seminaries.  This ferment surfaced in the general conference of the Latin American episcopacy (CELAM I), which convened in Rio de Janiero in 1955 with Pope Pius XII in attendance.  This conference addressed many issues, not the least of which was the modern role of the church in missions and in the social order.  Liberation theology was presaged in Cardinal Adeodato Piazza's reference to Jesus's first sermon to define the proper mission of the church: "The spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for He has anointed me.  He has sent to bring the good news to the poor (Ferm, op. cit. p 6)." 

Two major events of the 1960's shook the Catholic Church in Latin America to its foundations. Vatican II and the Medellin conference (CELAM II) of 1968.  It is important that we consider both events in some detail and note their impact on Latin America, for these two events, more than any others, gave official impetus to the emergence of Liberation Theology (Ibid., p. 7).

Both proponents and critics of Liberation Theology stress the importance of Vatican II and its convener, Pope John XXIII.  Gustavo Gutierrez of Peru, the leading exponent of Latin American Liberation Theology, has said that the Medellin conference would not have been possible without Vatican II and Pope John XXIII (National Catholic Reporter, Dec. 17, 1982, pp. 10-11).

In addition, C. Peter Wagner, no friend of Liberation Theology has stated: "When historians evaluate this period a century from now, it may well turn out that Pope John XXXIII will have been judged to have had more influence on the Latin American continent than any other person in the twentieth century.  Roman Catholicism will never be the same as a result of the council he called and the attitude he infused (Latin American Theology: Radical or Evangelical? Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970, p. 17)."

Pope John XXIII convened the council in 1982.  It met for two months at a time for the next four years.  After the death of John XXIII in 1963, Pope Paul VI continued where his predecessor had left off.  Vatical II represents the positive response of the Catholic Church to the challenges of the modern world.  Possibly the spirit of openness to all "separated brethren" epitomized by Pope John himself had a greater impact than even the documents themselves (Ferm, op. cit., p. 7).  

Nevertheless, one should not underestimate the significance of the Vatican II documents. Of major importance is the Gaudium et Spes (1965), which emphasizes the special responsibility Christians have toward "those who are poor or in any way afflicted (Gaudium et Spes, in Joseph Gremillion, ed., The Gospel of Peace and Justice. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1976, p. 243).

This document underlies the increasing gap between the haves and the have-nots, as well as the universal mandate to "count social necessities among the primary duties of modern humankind (Ibid., p. 267)."

It denies that the church is bound to any single social, economic, or political system and maintains that what is most important is the wider distribution of economic power.  Gaudium et Spes recognizes the importance of organized labor and even of the right to strike for just demands, as part of the effort to press for a fairer distribution of goods.  It affirms that the church itself, although independent of the political sector, has the right-even the duty-to pass moral judgments on political matters (Ferm, op. cit., p.7).

One finds the same spirit of willingness to confront the new demands of a changing world in the papal encyclicals issued the 1960's.  Pope John XXIII's Mater Magistra ( 1961) which builds upon the landmark social encyclicals Rerum Novarum (1891) and Quadragesimo Anno (1931), illusstrates this point well. In Quadragesimo Anno, Pius XI had advanced two basic principles: "practical morality," must govern economic affairs, and the interests of an individual or a society must be subordinate to the common good. He explicitly rejected unregulated competition and the subjugation of any society to the interests of its wealthiest members (Ibid., p. 8).

Pope John XXIII went a step further. He agreed with Pius XI that it was wrong for the powerful members of a society to determine the wage scale and he declared unjust any society in which the "human dignity of workers is compromised, or their sense of responsibility is weakened, or their freedom of action is removed (Mater et Maistra, in Gremillion, The Gospel, p. 161).

TO BE CONTINUED