Essay on Oscar Romero, Liberation Theology and the Catholic Church

His central aim is not just to provide one example of a legitimate, contextual (Hispanic) perspective. He also is eager to show that embracing different theological perspectives from around the globe is a necessary and unavoidable aspect of the church’s catholicity. González makes his case in the introduction.

In Lasallian schools the core principle of concern for the poor and social justice invites students and staff to be in solidarity with the poor and advocate for those suffering injustices. This means that people should have awareness of the poor and those who are victims of injustices and respond to their needs by means of community service and advocacy. This core principle is illustrated in the novella, “Saint Emmanuel the Good, Martyr” by Miguel de Unamuno. The main character, Don Emmanuel is the parson of the city of Valverde. The congregation of this parish look up to Don Emmanuel, admire him, and are overtaken by his words in mass. However, the narrator reveals that Don Emmanuel was not a man of faith. “Metamorphosis” by Kafka, presents a story of a young man who one day wakes up and is transformed into a bug. As a result of this transformation, he is mistreated by his family and considered useless in society. In the case of Saint Emmanuel the Good Martyr, there is a character that does not believe in God, yet practices concern for the poor and social justice on a daily basis. On the other hand, we have a character that yearns what Don Emmanuel gives to the citizens in Valverde, care and concern.

For instance, one of the passages. For instance, when Lupe says, “And when they changed, we also began to change. It was nicer that way. Knowing that someone called existed. The right to health care, to food and to schooling for our children” (Argueta 31). This illustrates how the people did not view religious figures as ordinary people. Instead, Lupe states that when the liberation theological movement started to occur that the priest started to demand the rights to the poor. This was unheard of during those times. Therefore, it was a relief that the priest started to demand health care, food and schooling. Furthermore, Lupe goes on to say, “Previously, they used to instill fear in us; we believed they were like magicians who could annihilate us with the simplest gesture” (Argueta 23). In other words, Lupe is see’s the priest different because previously the priest acted as a superior towards the people. Hence, this changed has opened the eyes to the lower class. Thus, priest are now fundamentally important in opposing the oppressive regime in El Salvador. This shines the light on liberation theology and how it has changed the the roles of several;

Bartolomé de Las Casas presents, for its time, an astounding claim human equality before God. Defending the native people of the New World from the violence executed by Spain and the claims to authority given voice by Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda, Las Casas provides a precocious assertion of human rights and the limits on civil and church authority. In this paper I will argue that Las Casas makes a nuanced assessment of civil government, to which he gives a vital but limited authority. I further propose that Las Casas, even while holding to the traditional and scriptural authority of the church, ascribes a similarly circumscribed earthly authority. The effect of these positions is to afford to non-Christians rationality and the freedom of

Models for post-revolutionary Latin American government are born of the complex economic and social realities of 17th and 18th century Europe. From the momentum of the Enlightenment came major political rebellions of the elite class against entrenched national monarchies and systems of power. Within this time period of elitist revolt and intensive political restructuring, the fundamental basis for both liberal and conservative ideology was driven deep into Latin American soil. However, as neither ideology sought to fulfill or even recognize the needs or rights of mestizo people under government rule, the initial liberal doctrine pervading Latin American nations perpetuated

Oscar Romero was born on August 15, 1917 in El Salvador. He was appointed Archbishop of El Salvador on February 23, 1977. When Romero was appointed as an Archbishop many priests were disappointed, especially those openly aligning with Marxism. On 12 March 1977, Rutilio Grande, a progressive Jesuit priest and personal friend of Romero who had been creating self-reliance groups among the poor campesinos, was assassinated do to what he was doing to help out the poor people in the community. His death had a profound impact on Romero, who later stated, "When I looked at Rutilio lying there dead I thought, 'If they have killed him for doing what he did, then I too have to walk the same path'". Romero urged the government to investigate, but they

Politically, Latin America became infamous in the eyes of other countries for frequent regime collapses and violent tactics, which frequented the Latin American civilization. Just as in the Western Society, two politically active groups, the liberals and conservatives divided the country. The liberals who were strongly influenced by Westerners, trusted parliamentary governments, civil rights and constitutions, and wished for a great reduction in the power of the church. The liberal party believed strongly in the need for an extended education, and tended to

ignored in his country of El Salvador. He took it upon himself to use the church as a light of hope to

Social forces such as class struggle, social change, urbanization, social structures, ecclesiastical hierarchy, and policies, to name but a few, play a hand in theological formation. As the following chart shows, the social forces within internal and external boundaries serve as determining factors in the germination of Latin America and U. S. Hispanic Liberation Theology. Latin American liberation theology arose during the 1960s and 1970s resulting from a “milieu of extreme poverty, class conflict, military coups, and political turmoil in countries such as Brazil, Peru, Chile, Mexico, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. Progressive religious leaders began to recognize the powerful alliances between the church and the state while the vast majority of the population lived in poverty.” While addressing “the role of Christians in relationship to class oppression, the role of foreign multinational corporations, U. S. foreign policy, Latin American regimes, and military dictatorship” in its initial development, Latin American liberation theology first viewed gender and ethnic discrimination as secondary matters. This view was consequential in that the conceivers and writers of Latin America liberation theology at the time were, predominantly, Catholic male theologians operating

The tragedies of the civil war in El Salvador brought focus to the many issues of oppression, under-representation, and inequality apparent amongst the Salvadoran working class during the later twentieth century. The outbreak of the war began much like civil wars in neighboring countries, consisting of the lower class demanding land and policy reformations, as elites feared the uprisings would result in socialist-geared politics that jeopardized their status. Amidst the fighting between the two social classes, the Catholic Church, as a whole, maintained a somewhat neutrality status and refused to publically support one group over the other. Thus, much opposition to the

Dominican are the philosopher of the church & response towards hidalgos after see them violence against the indigenous people and formed the Catholic Reform movement.The first protested was Antonio Montesino’s a catholic Bishop of Hispaniola that lodged the catholic movement in 1510 and he writes letter to Spanish governor of Hispaniola ,Nicolas Ovando and spend same letter to another king and queen of Spain and also church.* This letter’s impact on another Dominican on Bartolome de las Casas “ The destruction of the Indies” that print out in 1955 and church response Antonio Montesinos by holding debates within the church the Burcos Debates 1511.There were two Catholic priests first was Las Casa and the second was Porcinos

Arising out recent class discussion topics touching on the ideas of James Cone’s ideas on Liberation Theology and the relationship between the Cross and the Lynching Tree, our group decided to focus the topic of our presentation around Liberation Theology. However, in order to create a counter argument to stimulate further discourse, we introduced the Theology of Prosperity, as an opposing theological concept, to our presentation. Hence, we came up with the topic of Liberation Theology vs. Theology of Prosperity.

I chose the article concerning the upcoming visitation of Pope Francis by the title of “A Sacred and Praiseworthy Purpose”. This article speaks about the reason for Pope Francis visit, which is to deliver a mass at the National Cathedral where he is expected to finalize sainthood for the eighteenth century Franciscan Missionary Junipero Serra, whom was nicknamed “the Evangelizer of the West” by Pope Francis (Newcomb, 2015). Pope Alexander VI’s edicts gave credence to the missionary’s worthiness of sainthood as being deemed worthy by carrying out the churches spiritual conquests through the authority of the Saint Peter and victoriate of Jesus Christ (Newcomb, 2015). Newcomb goes on to discuss how the churches detail how the Holy See is in denial

Liberation theology is situational. The emergence of liberation theology and the interpretation of the Bible under liberation theology stems directly to the participants place in society. As the title suggests, liberation theology interprets the Bible as a document of hope that will give strength and validity to a struggle against an oppressor. Liberation theology rises out of a new political consciousness. The oppressed people have to realize they are oppressed and that the Bible text can be used as a tool to overcome their oppressors. In regards to South Africa, there was an awakening when the black people realized their lack of influence in politics, the huge economic disparity between rich and poor, and their low

During their time period, many theologians were criticized or harassed. For example, there were fifteen attempts to assassinate Dom Helder Camera, who was a significant figure in liberation theology. Many were threatened. Some were arrested, tortured, or killed. While there were others who just disappeared. However they still practiced their beliefs and spread their ideas. (V.B.2)