Dear Marshall,
I understand well that you have stated that Jesus would be today "branded a
naxalite" by people who do not know the difference. Even Fr.Cedric Prakash,
who is struggling for the human rights of the Dalits, has been labelled a
"politician", "communist", "naxalite"... As you have well expounded, there
is difference between "being a naxalite" and "being a Christian, as a
transforming 'leaven' or a 'Christian revolutionary'". We have to remember
the teaching of the Gospel and of the Church throughout the history. I think
that you have explained it clearly.
Often (useless) controversy is triggered when our statements are not well
understood or are distorted...
It should be clear that: 1. Theology of liberation has roots in the Gospel
sayings (cf.Lk 4:16-21). That was the 'social manifesto' of Jesus himself.
2. Theology of liberation took its systematic form in Latin America. It was
already at work in the evangelizing mission of Barnabe de las Casas.
3. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in his interview with Vittorio Messori, The
Ratzinger Report, has given a criticism of some forms of theology of
liberation, which approve of violence, Marxist ideology ( which is
atheistic, and therefore is not acceptable to a Christian), class struggle,
the myth of classless society... It is liberation from sin and from all its
consequences, both individual and societal.
4. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was the Secretary of the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith and one of the authors of the document "INSTRUCTION ON
CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE "THEOLOGY OF LIBERATION", approved by John Paul II,
where the Church accepts the expression and the nucleus of the theology:
solidarity with the poor, preferential option of the poor, love of
neighbour, denunciation of injustice and sin. It criticises some forms of
extremist theologies, unacceptable by Gospel criteria. Gustavo Guttierrez,
the Dominican Peruvian theologian, who studied medicine and then literature,
philosophy in Leuven and theology in Lyons, and worked in a parish among the
poor of Peru (Lima) as a priest, ad then taught in the University of Peru,
has given clear systematic insights of theology of liberation in his book, A
Theology of Liberation: History, Politics, Salvation (in 1971).
5. In the Magisterium of the Church we have the following steps: a)Synods of
Bishops in 1971 and 1974; after the 1974 synod, Pope Paul VI drafted the
apostolic exhortation "Evangelii Nuntiandi" on the basis of the conclusions
of the meeting: the relationship between evangelization and liberation
(nn.25-39). b)Second Assembly of the Latin-American Bishops (CELAM) in
Medellin, Colombia, in 1968 and Third Assembly in Puebla, Mexico in October
1978;
6. In Asia we have theologians of liberation: Tissa Balasurya, Aloysius
Pieris, George Soares-Prabhu, Sebastian Kappen, Samuel Rayan, Jacob
Kavunkal, Felix Wilfred, Kim Chung-Choon wrote extensively on Asian
theology of liberation.
7. The Christians have to work together with other religions: Rabindranath
Tagore wrote: "This is my prayer to thee, my Lord — strike at the root of
penury in my heart: Give me the strength never to disown the poor or bend my
knee before insolent might". "Similarly, Mahatma Gandhi derived inspiration
from the Bhagavadgita for political action against the colonial rulers, as a
religious deed. Active nonviolence for Gandhi was Satyagraha — the fight for
truth. Gandhi advocated a return to the pristine past of Rama Rajya, the
rule of a mythical hero, Rama, who symbolized justice, peace and equality.
For this, on the one hand, he had to unite the Indians who were divided by
the colonial policy of "divide and rule" and, on the other had to dissipate
the Indian masses’ fear of the State violence, which in turn had reduced all
Indians to submission. This he accomplished through the civil disobedience
movement, with the inspiration of the Bhagavadgita.... Asian religions too
advocated the liberation of humans, the Buddhist nirvana being a classic
example, not to speak of the liberational elements of the Bhakti traditions
in India. Hence, Asian liberation theologians advocate collaboration with
other Asian religions in effecting the liberation of the poor of Asia as a
common mission" (See the article of Jacob Kavunkal, "The Impact of Medellin
and Puebla on Asian Theology (3 February 2000) in:
http://www.sedos.org/english/kavunkal.htm).
Regards.
Fr.Ivo
From the Instruction on Theology of Liberation: "The Gospel of Jesus Christ
is a message of freedom and a force for liberation. In recent years, this
essential truth has become the object of reflection for theologians, with a
new kind of attention which is itself full of promise".
"Liberation is first and foremost liberation from the radical slavery of
sin. Its end and its goal is the freedom of the children of God, which is
the gift of grace. As a logical consequence, it calls for freedom from many
different kinds of slavery in the cultural, economic, social, and political
spheres, all of which derive ultimately from sin, and so often prevent
people from living in a manner befitting their dignity. To discern clearly
what is fundamental to this issue and what is a by-product of it, is an
indispensable condition for any theological reflection on liberation".
From A Theology of Liberation by Gustavo Gutierrez: " Poverty is an act of
love and liberation. It has a redemptive value. If the ultimate cause of
human exploitation and alienation is selfishness, the deepest reason for
voluntary poverty is love of neighbor. Christian poverty has meaning only as
a commitment of solidarity with the poor, with those who suffer misery and
injustice. The commitment is to witness to the evil which as resulted from
sin and is a breach of communion. It is not a question of idealizing
poverty, but rather of taking it on as it is—an evil—to protest against it
and to struggle to abolish it. As Ricoeur says, you cannot really be with
the poor unless you are struggling against poverty. Because of this
solidarity—which manifest itself in specific action, a style of life, a
break with one’s social class—one can also help the poor and exploitated to
become aware of their exploitation and seek liberation from it. Christian
poverty, and expression of love, is solidarity with the poor and is a
protest against poverty. (Fn46) This is the concrete, contemporary meaning
of the witness of poverty. It is a poverty lived not for its own sake, but
rather as an authentic imitation of Christ; it is a poverty which means
taking on the sinful human condition to liberate humankind from sin and all
its consequences".
.
From: "Marshall Mendonza" <mmendonz...@gmail.com>
<<<Mario, you have completely missed the point in my posting. There is a
world of difference between ' branded a naxalite' and 'being a naxalite'.
Today
anyone speaking / working for the tribals, the oppressed and
the marginalised are branded as 'naxalites'....
