Skip to main content
Support

By Paul Sigmund

From the Introduction

What is liberation theology? Why has a relatively new theological current in the Roman Catholic Church in Latin America become front page news in the world press? One reason for the attention it is receiving is the polarization of opinion pro-and-con, as to its implications. For Cardinal Ratzinger, writing in a private memorandum published in the Italian press in 1984, it is a "fundamental threat to the Faith of the Church." For the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (formerly the Holy Office) in its 1984 Instruction on Certain Aspects of the Theology of Liberation it "uses concepts uncritically borrowed from Marxist ideology..." To the Catholic novelist, Walker Percy, it is a "perversion of Christianity... They justify killing (and) joining Marxist- Leninist revolutions" (National Catholic Register, January 6, 1986). In September 1984 the Vatican summoned a leading liberation theologian, the Brazilian Franciscan, Leonardo Boff, and after a discussion of his writings, ordered him to observe a period of "penitential silence" beginning in April 1985. In the United States, the Wall Street Journal frequently has published articles on the subject, and the Departments of State and Defense, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the United States Information Agency have asked theologians to analyze and interpret the implications of liberation theology, especially as to its revolutionary potential in Latin America and the Philippines. In the last twelve months four major academic conferences have been held at various universities in the United States and Canada, and the founder of the movement, Gustavo Gutíerrez, a Peruvian priest, is currently a Visiting Professor at the University of Michigan.

What is it about liberation theology that elicits such strong opposing responses? To answer this question it is necessary to examine its history and sort out the various elements in what is a complex and evolving current of theological reflection.

Tagged

Related Program

Latin America Program

The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action.  Read more