Review article

Theology of Liberation and The Option for the Poor

Josip Grbac ; Theology in Rijeka, Dislocated Studies of Catholic Faculty of Theology, University of Zagreb, Rijeka, Croatia

Abstract

Theology of liberation has managed to achieve a certain shift in Church efforts to adopt the option for the poor as a strategic, and not only a tactical issue. Church Magisterium has never questioned this goal of theology of liberation; critical questions have only been raised concerning the means and methodology that liberation theology has adopted in terms of its goal. A systematic analysis of Biblical texts, a certain »political« reading of the Bible, the anthropological emphasis which puts the human being’s concrete reality in the forefront, the demand to make the option for the poor an obligation of all social structures, are all, at the same time, positive contributions of theology of liberation and theses subject to a critique. Namely, if it is correct that the biggest credit of theology of liberation is that it managed to make the poor a subject of theological reflection, it is, nevertheless, not easy to see how the option for the poor could be the absolute priority of the Church and its pastoral activity, because this would put into question the true meaning of the Gospel liberation, which is not related only to material poverty. In other words, the Gospel understands liberation in the perspective of eternity and not only as worldly liberation. The important contribution to awakening of the consciousness of importance of the option for the poor was also given by Cardinal Giacomo Lercaro’s speech, delivered at the Council. The consequence of the conciliar teaching and Lercar’s contribution consists in making the issue of poverty not only an issue of social morality, but an important theological and Christological issue. Theologically, the poor have, thus, become an original ethical locus, while poverty of Christ’s disciples and the whole ecclesial community has a certain quality of life which can be called theological. In any case, theology of liberation and the Council provide us with guidelines on how to speak about and how to practically enliven the option for the poor. This is primarily a religious and ethical demand to an individual that comes forth from the following of Christ. This is why there is a need to discern how the option for the poor could become a criterion of political discernment and economic planning, and especially of activity of the Church and its theological thought. All this points towards the conclusion that it is not enough for the option for the poor to remain a positive ethical norm that prescribes something, but does not oblige in the absolute sense of the word. In those cases when the human life itself is at stake because of poverty, the option for the poor should become a negative command in the absolute sense of the word, and not only for the community (this should not be an incentive for creating an unjust social system) but for the individual (I should not turn my face away from such cases of poverty) as well.

Keywords

theology; liberation; salvation; the option for the poor; Church; politics; society

Hrčak ID:

129341

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/129341

Publication date:

4.11.2014.

Article data in other languages: croatian

Visits: 2.291 *