Instruction Libertatis Nuntius on certain aspects of the Theology of Liberation - 3

V
THE VOICE OF THE MAGISTERIUM

1. In order to answer the challenge leveled at our times by oppression and hunger, the Church's Magisterium has frequently expressed her desire to awaken Christian consciences to a sense of justice, social responsibility, and solidarity with the poor and the oppressed, and to highlight the present urgency of the doctrine and imperatives contained in Revelation.

2. We would like to mention some of these interventions here: the papal documents "Mater et Magistra", "Pacem in Terris", "Populorum progressio", and "Evangelii nuntiandi". We should likewise mention the letter to Cardinal Roy, "Octogesima adveniens".

3. The Second Vatican Council in turn confronted the questions of justice and liberty in the Pastoral Constitution, "Gaudium et Spes".

4. On a number of occasions, the Holy Father has emphasized these themes, in particular in the encyclicals "Redemptor hominis", "Dives in misericordia", and "Laborem exercens". These numerous addresses recall the doctrine of the rights of man and touch directly on the problems of the liberation of the human person in the face of the diverse kinds of oppression of which he is the victim. It is especially important to mention in this connection the Address given before the 26th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York, October 2, 1979. [14] On January 28 of that same year, while opening the Third Conference of CELAM in Puebla, John Paul II affirmed that the complete truth about man is the basis for any real liberation. [15] This text is a document which bears directly upon the theology of liberation.

5. Twice the 'Synod of Bishops' treated subjects which are directly related to a Christian conception of liberation: in 1971, justice in the world, and in 1974, the relationship between freedom from oppression and full freedom, or the salvation of mankind. The work of the Synods of 1971 and 1974 led Paul VI in his Apostolic Constitution "Evangelii nuntiandi" to clarify the connection between evangelization and human liberation of advancement. [16]

6. The concern for the Church for liberation and for human advancement was also expressed in the establishment of the Pontifical Commission, 'Justice and Peace'.

7. Numerous national Episcopal Conferences have joined the Holy See in recalling the urgency of authentic human liberation and the routes by which to achieve it. In this context, special mention should be made of the documents of the General Conferences of the Latin American episcopate at Medellin in 1968 and at Puebla in 1979. Paul VI was present at the Medellin Conference and John Paul II was at Puebla. Both dealt with the themes of conversion and liberation.

8. Following Paul VI, who had insisted on the distinctive character of the Gospel message, [17] a character which is of divine origin, John Paul II, in his address at Puebla, recalled the three pillars upon which any authentic theology of liberation will rest: 'truth about Jesus Christ', 'truth about the Church', and 'truth about mankind'. [18]

VI 

A NEW INTERPRETATION OF CHRISTIANITY

1. It is impossible to overlook the immense amount of selfless work done by Christians, pastors, priests, religious or lay persons, who, driven by a love for their brothers and sisters living in inhuman conditions, have endeavored to bring help and comfort to countless people in the distress brought about by poverty. Among these, some have tried to find the most effective means to put a quick end to the intolerable situation.

2. The zeal and the compassion which should dwell in the hearts of all pastors nevertheless run the risk of being led astray and diverted to works which are just as damaging to man and his dignity as is the poverty which is being fought, if one is not sufficiently attentive to certain temptations.

3. The feeling of anguish at the urgency of the problems cannot make us lose sight of what is essential nor forget the reply of Jesus to the Tempter: "It is not on bread alone that man lives, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4; cf. Deuteronomy 8:3). Faced with the urgency of sharing bread, some are tempted to put evangelization into parentheses, as it were, and postpone it until tomorrow: first the bread, then the Word of the Lord. It is a fatal error to separate these two and even worse to oppose the one to the other. In fact, the Christian perspective naturally shows they have a great deal to do with one another. [19]

4. To some it even seems that the necessary struggle for human justice and freedom in the economic and political sense constitutes the whole essence of salvation. For them, the Gospel is reduced to a purely earthly gospel.

5. The different theologies of liberation are situated between the 'preferential option for the poor', forcefully reaffirmed without ambiguity after Medellin at the Conference of 'Puebla' [19] on the one hand, and the temptation to reduce the Gospel to an earthly gospel on the other. We should recall that the preferential option described at 'Puebla' is two-fold: for the poor and 'for the young'. [21] It is significant that the option for the young has in general been passed over in total silence.

7. We noted above (cf. 3) that an authentic theology of liberation will be one which is rooted in the Word of God, correctly interpreted.

8. But from a descriptive standpoint, it helps to speak of 'theologies' of liberation, since the expression embraces a number of theological positions, or even sometimes ideological ones, which are not simply different but more often incompatible with one another.

9. In this present document, we will only be discussing developments of that current of thought which, under the name "theology of liberation", proposes a novel interpretation of both the content of faith and of Christian existence which seriously departs from the faith of the Church and, in fact, actually constitutes a practical negation.

10. Concepts uncritically borrowed from Marxist ideology and recourse to theses of a biblical hermeneutic marked by rationalism are at the basis of the new interpretation which is corrupting whatever was authentic in the generous initial commitment on behalf of the poor.

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(14) Cf. AAS 71 (1979) pp. 1144-1160.

(15) Cf. AAS 71 (1979) p. 196.

(16) Cf. "Evangelii nuntiandi", n. 25-33, AAS 68 (1976) pp. 23-28.

(17) Cf. "Evangelii nuntiandi", n. 32, AAS 68 (1976) p. 27.

(18) Cf. AAS 71 (1979) pp. 188-196.

(19) Cf. "Gaudium et Spes", n. 39; Pius XI, "Quadragesimo Anno": AAS 23 (1931) p. 207.

(20) Cf. n. 1134-1165 and n. 1166-1205.

(21) Doc. de Puebla, IV, 2.