Benedict XVI cautions against dangers of Marxist liberation theology

[struggle4progress]

Vatican City, Dec 7, 2009 / 11:42 am (CNA).- In a meeting with a group of Brazilian bishops on Saturday, the Holy Father warned of the dangers of Marxist liberation theology and noted its grave consequences for ecclesial communities.

During the ad limina visit, the Pope recalled that “last August marked 25 years since the Instruction “Libertatis nuntius” of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on certain aspects of liberation theology. The document "highlights the danger involved in the uncritical absorption, by certain theologians, of theses and methodologies that come from Marxism."

The Pope warned that the “more or less visible” scars of Marxist liberation theology, such as “rebellion, division, dissent, offenses, anarchy, are still being felt, causing great suffering and a grave loss of dynamic strength in your diocesan communities.”

For this reason, he exhorted all those who in some way feel attracted or affected by “certain deceitful principles of liberation theology” to re-visit the instruction and be open to the light that it can shed on the subject ...

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17965


INSTRUCTION ON CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE "THEOLOGY OF LIBERATION"
... Liberation is first and foremost liberation from the radical slavery of sin ... This warning should in no way be interpreted as a disavowal of all those who want to respond generously and with an authentic evangelical spirit to the "preferential option for the poor." It should not at all serve as an excuse for those who maintain the attitude of neutrality and indifference in the face of the tragic and pressing problems of human misery and injustice. It is, on the contrary, dictated by the certitude that the serious ideological deviations which it points out tends inevitably to betray the cause of the poor. More than ever, it is important that numerous Christians, whose faith is clear and who are committed to live the Christian life in its fullness, become involved in the struggle for justice, freedom, and human dignity because of their love for their disinherited, oppressed, and persecuted brothers and sisters. More than ever, the Church intends to condemn abuses, injustices, and attacks against freedom, wherever they occur and whoever commits them. She intends to struggle, by her own means, for the defense and advancement of the rights of mankind, especially of the poor ... In the Old Testament, the prophets after Amos keep affirming with particular vigor the requirements of justice and solidarity and the need to pronounce a very severe judgment on the rich who oppress the poor. They come to the defense of the widow and the orphan. They threaten the powerful ... The warning against the serious deviations of some "theologies of liberation" must not be taken as some kind of approval, even indirect, of those who keep the poor in misery, who profit from that misery, who notice it while doing nothing about it, or who remain indifferent to it ... To put one's trust in violent means in the hope of restoring more justice is to become the victim of a fatal illusion: violence begets violence and degrades man. It mocks the dignity of man in the person of the victims and it debases that same dignity among those who practice it ... By the same token, the overthrow by means of revolutionary violence of structures which generate violence is not ipso facto the beginning of a just regime ... One should also keep in mind the true meaning of ethics in which the distinction between good and evil is not relativized, the real meaning of sin, the necessity for conversion, and the universality of the law of fraternal love ...
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19840806_theology-liberation_en.html

As I read the 1984 document, the Pope has never much liked the notion of "class struggle," as demoting the ideal of Christian love by teaching that certain people might objectively tend to be enemies, due to the distinct structural roles they play in a given society; I then think that the old document misses a potentially interesting POV -- that Christianity teaches not that one ought to have no enemies, but rather that one must make constantly an effort to love those "enemies"

[54anickel]

1. Interesting, just got hammered today by my more fundamental peers on

this topic. I do hold to more of a liberation/process theology and it came up in today's class discussion. You'd think I was the spawn of Satan at that table or something.

[struggle4progress]

3. LOL. Many people in my little Lutheran church come from more fundamentalist backgrounds

than I do: I mean, Pentecostal Holiness and such. From time to time, I try to nudge them in directions I consider more liberal. I think a lot of them are a bit perplexed by the new Lutheran position on sexuality.But I learn a lot by listening to them -- and sometimes when I flap my gums, I discover they're more liberal than I thought they were :D

[54anickel]

4. Scary part is there were 3 pastors in the group - church leaders from denominations

that are on the rise these days. If this group is reflective of the new face of "organized religion" then I must question what the hell god is up to here.

We were discussing the parable of the talents when I offered a reading of it through the lens of liberation theology - that's when I got the spawn of Satan look and was quickly "corrected" on my thought process (before I even finished the interpretation).

They tend to be so black and white in their understanding of "God". This experience is giving me a whole new appreciation for the lay members of our church who struggle with their fundamentalist backgrounds - at least they are willing to struggle with their absolute truths. It's when those struggles bring their politics into question that we tend to have issues.

[CatholicEdHead]

6. When I posted on Catholic Answers (before they banned me)

you even hit at Liberation Theology and they come down hard on you as the worst thing ever. The RCC has been moving away from helping from the poor at the higher levels and is working to move more money up to higher levels rather than down to the most needy. :(

[54anickel]

7. Wow, that's really a sad commentary. I've really come to embrace

liberation theology - now I'm finding it's not exactly appreciated in much of the church. :wtf:

On edit: Just read through some of the comments on the site from the OP...:wow:

[struggle4progress]

9. Liberation Theology brought me back to the Church

[54anickel]

11. It has played a role in my return, certainly wasn't the central reason though.

[CatholicEdHead]

10. The groups hang on through the struggles and will be there when

everything passes. There is still the old evil commie mindset at highest levels to use the "marxist" attack talking points. Yet discussion of wealth distribution, even at an academic level is still mostly passe the higher you go.

[mia]

2. Sounds like the Jesuits must be speading more news about the

love of Jesus and Rome never likes that.
Send your tithes, yea who hunger and thirst - your reward will be in Heaven.

[Deep13]

5. That which may be asserted without evidence may be dismissed without evidence.

[charlie]

8. Like CNN foolishly aping Fox

everything this Pope does tells me he's just aching to capture the Wingnut Protestant market.

[silverweb]

12. I'm so sick of this guy already.

The heyday of the hypocritical Catholic Church is over, Benny.

You no longer co-rule the western world with kings and emperors, you can't impose your will on governments, and most people don't fear the threats of your fairy tales anymore.

Now go away.