Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
August 6, 1984
INTRODUCTION
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.
Faced with the urgency of certain problems, some are tempted to emphasize, unilaterally, the liberation from servitude of an earthly and temporal kind. They do so in such a way that they seem to put liberation from sin in second place, and so fail to give it the primary importance it is due. Thus, their very presentation of the problems is confused and ambiguous. Others, in an effort to learn more precisely what are the causes of the slavery which they want to end, make use of different concepts without sufficient critical caution. It is difficult, and perhaps impossible, to purify these borrowed concepts of an ideological inspiration which is compatible with Christian faith and the ethical requirements which flow from it.
The present Instruction has a much more limited and precise purpose: to draw the attention of pastors, theologians, and all the faithful to the deviations, and risks of deviation, damaging to the faith and to Christian living, that are brought about by certain forms of liberation theology which use, in an insufficiently critical manner, concepts borrowed from various currents of Marxist thought.
This warning should in no way be interpreted as a disavowal of all those who want to respond generously and with an authentic evangelical spirit to the "preferential option for the poor." It should not at all serve as an excuse for those who maintain the attitude of neutrality and indifference in the face of the tragic and pressing problems of human misery and injustice. It is, on the contrary, dictated by the certitude that the serious ideological deviations which it points out tends inevitably to betray the cause of the poor. More than ever, it is important that numerous Christians, whose faith is clear and who are committed to live the Christian life in its fullness, become involved in the struggle for justice, freedom, and human dignity because of their love for their disinherited, oppressed, and persecuted brothers and sisters. More than ever, the Church intends to condemn abuses, injustices, and attacks against freedom, wherever they occur and whoever commits them. She intends to struggle, by her own means, for the defense and advancement of the rights of mankind, especially of the poor.
I. AN INSPIRATION
1. The powerful and almost irresistible aspiration that people have for
liberation constitutes one of the principal 2. This yearning shows the authentic, if obscure, perception of the dignity
of the human person, created "in the image and likeness of God" Genesis
1:26-27, ridiculed and scorned in the midst of a variety of different
oppressions: cultural, political, racial, social, and economic, often in
conjunction with one another.
3. In revealing to them their vocation as children of God, the Gospel has
elicited in the hearts of mankind a demand and a positive will for a peaceful
and just fraternal life in which everyone will find respect and the conditions
for spiritual as well as material development. This requirement is no doubt at
the very basis of the aspiration we are talking about here.
4. Consequently mankind will no longer passively submit to crushing poverty
with its effects of death, disease, and decline. He resents this misery as an
intolerable violation of his native dignity. Many factors, and among them
certainly the leaven of the Gospel, have contributed to an awakening of the
consciousness of the oppressed.
5. It is widely known, even in still illiterate sections of the world, that,
thanks to the amazing advances in science and technology, mankind, still growing
in numbers, is capable of assuring each human being the minimum of goods
required by his dignity as a person.
6. The scandal of the shocking inequality between the rich and poor --
whether between rich and poor countries, or between social classes in a single
nation -- is no longer tolerated. On one hand, people have attained an unheard
of abundance which is given to waste, while on the other hand so many live in
such poverty, deprived of the basic necessities, that one is hardly able even to
count the victims of malnutrition.
7. The lack of equity and of a sense of solidarity in international
transactions works to the advantage of the industrialized nations so that the
gulf between the rich and the poor is ever widening. Hence derives the feeling
of frustration among third world countries, and the accusations of exploitation
and economic colonialism brought against the industrialized nations.
8. The memory of crimes of a certain type of colonialism and of its effects
often aggravates these injuries and wounds.
9. The Apostolic See, in accord with the Second Vatican Council, and together
with the Episcopal Conferences, has not ceased to denounce the scandal involved
in the gigantic arms race which, in addition to the threat which it poses to
peace, squanders amounts of money so large that even a fraction of it would be
sufficient to respond to the needs of those people who want for the basic
essentials of life.
II. EXPRESSIONS OF THIS ASPIRATION 1. The yearning for justice and for the effective recognition of the dignity
of every human being needs, like every deep aspiration, to be clarified and
guided.
2. In effect, a discernment process is necessary which takes into account
both the theoretical and the practical manifestations of this aspiration.
For there are many political and social movements which present themselves as
authentic spokesmen for the aspirations of the poor, and claim to be able,
though by recourse to violent means, to bring about the radical changes which
will put an end to the oppression and misery of people.
3. So the aspiration for justice often finds itself the captive of ideologies
which hide or pervert its meaning, and which propose to people struggling for
their liberation goals which are contrary to the true purpose of human life.
They propose ways of action which imply the systematic recourse to violence,
contrary to any ethic which is respectful of persons.
4. The interpretation of the signs of the times in the light of the
Gospel requires, then, that we examine the meaning of this deep yearning of
people for justice, but also that we study with critical discernment the
theoretical and practical expressions which this aspiration has taken on.
III. LIBERATION, A CHRISTIAN THEME 1. Taken by itself, the desire for liberation finds a strong and fraternal
echo in the heart and spirit of Christians.
2. Thus, in accord with this aspiration, the theological and pastoral
movement known as "Liberation Theology" was born, first in the countries of
Latin America which are marked by the religious and cultural heritage of
Christianity, and then in other countries of the third world, as well as in
certain circles in the industrialized countries.
3. The expression, "Theology of Liberation" refers first of all to a special
concern for the poor and the victims of oppression, which in turn begets a
commitment to justice. Starting with this approach, we can distinguish several,
often contradictory ways of understanding the Christian meaning of poverty and
the type of commitment to justice which it requires. As with all movements of
ideas, the "theologies of liberation" present diverse theological positions.
Their doctrinal frontiers are badly defined.
4. The aspiration for liberation, as the term itself suggests, repeats
a theme which is fundamental to the Old and New Testaments. In itself, the
expression "theology of liberation" is a thoroughly valid term: it designates a
theological reflection centered on the biblical theme of liberation and freedom,
and on the urgency of its practical realization. The meeting, then of the
aspiration for liberation and the theologies of liberation is not one of mere
chance. The significance of the encounter between the two can be understood only
in light of the specific message of Revelation, authentically interpreted by the
Magisterium of the Church. [2]
IV. BIBLICAL FOUNDATIONS 1. Thus, a theology of liberation correctly understood constitutes an
invitation to theologians to deepen certain essential biblical themes with a
concern for the grave and urgent questions which the contemporary yearning for
liberation, and those movements which more or less faithfully echo it, pose for
the Church. We dare not forget for a single instant the situations of acute
distress which issue such a dramatic call to theologians.
2. The radical experience of Christian liberty [3] is our first point
of reference. Christ, our Liberator, has freed us from sin and from slavery to
the Law and to the flesh, which is the mark of the condition of sinful mankind.
Thus it is the new life of grace, fruit of justification, which makes us free.
This means that the most radical form of slavery is slavery to sin. Other forms
of slavery find their deepest root in slavery to sin. That is why freedom in the
full Christian sense, characterized by the life in the Spirit, cannot be
confused with a license to give in to the desires of the flesh. Freedom is a new
life in love.
3. The "theologies of liberation" make wide use of readings from the book of
Exodus. The exodus, in fact, is the fundamental event in the formation of the
chosen people. It represents freedom from foreign domination and from slavery.
One will note that the specific significance of the event comes from its
purpose, for this liberation is ordered to the foundation of the people of God
and the Covenant cult celebrated on Mt. Sinai. [4] That is why the liberation of
the Exodus cannot be reduced to a liberation which is principally or exclusively
political in nature. Moreover, it is significant that the term freedom is
often replaced in Scripture by the very closely related term, redemption.
4. The foundational episode of the Exodus will never be effaced from
the memory of Israel. Reference is made to it when, after the destruction of
Jerusalem and the exile to Babylon, the Jewish people lived in the hope of a new
liberation and, beyond that, awaited a definitive liberation. In this experience
God is recognized as the Liberator. He will enter into a new Covenant with His
people. It will be marked by the gift of His Spirit and the conversion of
hearts. [5]
5. The anxieties and multiple sufferings sustained by those who are faithful
to the God of the Covenant provide the theme of several Psalms; laments, appeals
for help and thanksgivings all make mention mention of religious salvation and
liberation. In this context, suffering is not purely and simply equated with the
social condition of poverty or with the condition of the one who is undergoing
political oppression. It also includes the hostility of one's enemies,
injustice, failure, and death. The Psalms call us back to an essential religious
experience: it is from God alone that one can expect salvation and healing. God,
and not man, has the power to change the situations of suffering. Thus the "poor
of the Lord" live in a total and confident reliance upon the loving providence
of God. [6] Moreover, throughout the whole crossing of the desert, the Lord did
not fail to provide for the spiritual liberation and purification of the people.
6. In the Old Testament, the prophets after Amos keep affirming with
particular vigor the requirements of justice and solidarity and the need to
pronounce a very severe judgment on the rich who oppress the poor. They come to
the defense of the widow and the orphan. They threaten the powerful: the
accumulation of evils can only lead to terrible punishments. Faithfulness to the
Covenant cannot be conceived of without the practice of justice. Justice as
regards God and justice as regards mankind are inseparable. God is the defender
and the liberator of the poor.
7. These requirements are found once again in the New Testament. They are
even more radicalized as can be shown in the discourse on the Beatitudes.
Conversion and renewal have to occur in the depths of the heart.
8. Already proclaimed in the Old Testament, the commandment of fraternal love
extended to all mankind thus provides the supreme rule of social life. [7] There
are no discriminations or limitations which can counter the recognition of
everyone as neighbor. [8]
9. Poverty for the sake of the kingdom is praised. And in the figure of the
poor, we are led to recognize the mysterious presence of the Son of Man who
became poor himself for the love of us. [9] This is the foundation of the
inexhaustible words of Jesus on the judgment in Matthew 25:31-46. Our
Lord is one with all in distress; every distress is marked by his presence.
10. At the same time, the requirements of justice and mercy, already
proclaimed in the Old Testament, are deepened to assume a new significance in
the New Testament. Those who suffer or who are persecuted are identified with
Christ. [10] The perfection that Jesus demands of His disciples Matthew
5:18 consists in the obligation to be merciful "as your heavenly Father is
merciful". Luke 6:36
11. It is in the light of the Christian vocation to fraternal love and mercy
that the rich are severely reminded of their duty. [11] St. Paul, faced with the
disorders of the Church of Corinth, forcefully emphasizes the bond which exists
between participation in the sacrament of love and sharing with the brother in
need. [12]
12. New Testament revelation teaches us that sin is the greatest evil, since
it strikes man in the heart of his personality. The first liberation, to which
all others must make reference, is that from sin.
13. Unquestionably, it is to stress the radical character of the deliverance
brought by Christ and offered to all, be they politically free or slaves, that
the New Testament does not require some change in the political or social
condition as a prerequisite for entrance into this freedom. However, the
Letter to Philemon shows that the new freedom procured by the grace of
Christ should necessarily have effects on the social level.
14. Consequently, the full ambit of sin, whose first effect is to introduce
disorder into the relationship between God and man, cannot be restricted to
"social sin." The truth is that only a correct doctrine of sin will permit us to
insist on the gravity of its social effects.
15. Nor can one localize evil principally or uniquely in bad social,
political, or economic "structures" as though all other evils came from them so
that the creation of the "new man" would depend on the establishment of
different economic and socio- political structures. To be sure, there are
structures which are evil and which cause evil and which we must have the
courage to change. Structures, whether they are good or bad, are the result of
man's actions and so are consequences more than causes. The root of evil, then,
lies in free and responsible persons who have to be converted by the grace of
Jesus Christ in order to live and act as new creatures in the love of neighbor
and in the effective search for justice, self-control, and the exercise of
virtue. [13] To demand first of all a radical revolution in social relations and
then to criticize the search for personal perfection is to set out on a road
which leads to the denial of the meaning of the person and his transcendence,
and to destroy ethics and its foundation which is the absolute character of the
distinction between good and evil. Moreover, since charity is the principle of
authentic perfection, that perfection cannot be conceived without an openness to
others and a spirit of service.
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, 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.
6. We should recall that the preferential option described at Puebla
is two-fold: for the poor and 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.
VII. MARXIST ANALYSIS 1. Impatience and a desire for results has led certain Christians, despairing
of every other method, to turn to what they call "marxist analysis."
2. Their reasoning is this: an intolerable and explosive situation requires
effective action which cannot be put off. Effective action presupposes a
scientific analysis of the structural causes of poverty. Marxism now
provides us with the means to make such an analysis, they say. Then one simply
has to apply the analysis to the third-world situation, especially in Latin
America.
3. It is clear that scientific knowledge of the situation and of the possible
strategies for the transformation of society is a presupposition for any plan
capable of attaining the ends proposed. It is also a proof of the seriousness of
the effort.
4. But the term "scientific" exerts an almost mythical fascination even
though everything called "scientific" is not necessarily scientific at all. That
is why the borrowing of a method of approach to reality should be preceded by a
careful epistemological critique. This preliminary critical study is missing
from more than one "theology of liberation."
5. In the human and social sciences it is well to be aware above all of the
plurality of methods and viewpoints, each of which reveals only one aspect of
reality which is so complex that it defies simple and univocal explanation.
6. In the case of Marxism, in the particular sense given to it in this
context, a preliminary critique is all the more necessary since the thought of
Marx is such a global vision of reality that all data received form observation
and analysis are brought together in a philosophical and ideological structure,
which predetermines the significance and importance to be attached to them. The
ideological principles come prior to the study of the social reality and are
presupposed in it. Thus no separation of the parts of this epistemologically
unique complex is possible. If one tries to take only one part, say, the
analysis, one ends up having to accept the entire ideology. That is why it is
not uncommon for the ideological aspects to be predominant among the things
which the "theologians of liberation" borrow from Marxist authors.
7. The warning of Paul VI remains fully valid today: Marxism as it is
actually lived out poses many distinct aspects and questions for Christians to
reflect upon and act on. However, it would be "illusory and dangerous to ignore
the intimate bond which radically unites them, and to accept elements of the
Marxist analysis without recognizing its connections with the ideology, or to
enter into the practice of class-struggle and of its Marxist interpretation
while failing to see the kind of totalitarian society to which this process
slowly leads." [22]
8. It is true that Marxist thought ever since its origins, and even more so
lately, has become divided and has given birth to various currents which diverge
significantly from each other. To the extent that they remain fully Marxist,
these currents continue to be based on certain fundamental tenets which are not
compatible with the Christian conception of humanity and society. In this
context, certain formulas are not neutral, but keep the meaning they had in the
original Marxist doctrine. This is the case with the "class-struggle." This
expression remains pregnant with the interpretation that Marx gave it, so it
cannot be taken as the equivalent of "severe social conflict", in an empirical
sense. Those who use similar formulas, while claiming to keep only certain
elements of the Marxist analysis and yet to reject the analysis taken as a
whole, maintain at the very least a serious confusion in the minds of their
readers.
9. Let us recall the fact that atheism and the denial of the human person,
his liberty and rights, are at the core of the Marxist theory. This theory,
then, contains errors which directly threaten the truths of the faith regarding
the eternal destiny of individual persons. Moreover, to attempt to integrate
into theology an analysis whose criterion of interpretation depends on this
atheistic conception is to involve oneself in terrible contradictions. What is
more, this misunderstanding of the spiritual nature of the person leads to a
total subordination of the person to the collectivity, and thus to the denial of
the principles of a social and political life which is in keeping with human
dignity.
10. A critical examination of the analytical methods borrowed from other
disciplines must be carried out in a special way by theologians. It is the light
of faith which provides theology with its principles. That is why the use of
philosophical positions or of human sciences by the theologian has a value which
might be called instrumental, but yet must undergo a critical study from a
theological perspective. In other words, the ultimate and decisive criterion for
truth can only be a criterion which is itself theological. It is only in the
light of faith, and what faith teaches us about the truth of man and the
ultimate meaning of his destiny, that one can judge the validity or degree of
validity of what other disciplines propose, often rather conjecturally, as being
the truth about man, his history and destiny.
11. When modes of interpretation are applied to the economic, social, and
political reality of today, which are themselves borrowed from Marxist thought,
they can give the initial impression of a certain plausibility, to the degree
that the present-day situation in certain countries is similar to what Marx
described and interpreted in the middle of the last century. On the basis of
these similarities, certain simplifications are made which, abstracting from
specific essential factors, prevent any really rigorous examination of the
causes of poverty and prolong the confusion.
12. In certain parts of Latin America, the seizure of the vast majority of
the wealth by an oligarchy of owners bereft of social consciousness, the
practical absence or the shortcomings of a rule of law, military dictators
making a mockery of elementary human rights, the corruption of certain powerful
officials, the savage practices of some foreign capital interests constitute
factors which nourish a passion for revolt among those who thus consider
themselves the powerless victims of a new colonialism in the technological,
financial, monetary, or economic order. The recognition of injustice is
accompanied by a pathos which borrows its language from Marxism, wrongly
presented as though it were scientific language.
13. The first condition for any analysis is a total openness to the reality
to be described. That is why a critical consciousness has to accompany the use
of any working hypotheses that are being adopted. One has to realize that these
hypotheses correspond to a particular viewpoint which will inevitably highlight
certain aspects of the reality while leaving others in the shade. This
limitation which derives from the nature of human science is ignored by those
who, under the guise of hypotheses recognized as such, have recourse to such an
all- embracing conception of reality as the thought of Karl Marx.
VIII. SUBVERSION OF THE MEANING OF TRUTH AND VIOLENCE 1. This all-embracing conception thus imposes its logic and leads the
"theologies of liberation" to accept a series of positions which are
incompatible with the Christian vision of humanity. In fact, the ideological
core borrowed from Marxism, which we are referring to, exercises the function of
a determining principle. It has this role in virtue of its being
described as "scientific", that is to say, true of necessity. In this core, we
can distinguish several components.
2. According to the logic of Marxist thought, the "analysis" is inseparable
from the praxis, and from the conception of history to which this
praxis is linked. The analysis is for the Marxist an instrument of
criticism, and criticism is only one stage in the revolutionary struggle. This
struggle is that of the proletarian class, invested with its mission in history.
3. Consequently, for the Marxist, only those who engage in the struggle can
work out the analysis correctly.
4. The only true consciousness, then, is the partisan consciousness.
It is clear that the concept of truth itself is in question here, and it
is totally subverted: there is no truth, they pretend, except in and through the
partisan praxis.
5. For the Marxist, the praxis, and the truth that comes from it, are
partisan praxis and truth because the fundamental structure of history is
characterized by class-struggle. There follows, then, the objective
necessity to enter into the class struggle, which is the dialectical opposite of
the relationship of exploitation, which is being condemned. For the Marxist, the
truth is a truth of class: there is no truth but the truth in the struggle of
the revolutionary class.
6. The fundamental law of history, which is the law of class struggle,
implies that society is founded on violence. To the violence which constitutes
the relationship of the domination of the rich over the poor, there corresponds
the counter-violence of the revolution, by means of which this domination will
be reversed.
7. The class struggle is presented as an objective, necessary law. Upon
entering this process on behalf of the oppressed, one "makes" truth, one acts
"scientifically". Consequently, the conception of the truth goes hand in hand
with the affirmation of necessary violence, and so, of a political amorality.
Within this perspective, any reference to ethical requirements calling for
courageous and radical institutional and structural reforms makes no sense.
8. The fundamental law of class struggle has a global and universal
character. It is reflected in all the spheres of existence: religious, ethical,
cultural, and institutional. As far as this law is concerned, none of these
spheres is autonomous. In each of them this law constitutes the determining
element.
9. In particular, the very nature of ethics is radically called into question
because of the borrowing of these theses from Marxism. In fact, it is the
transcendent character of the distinction between good and evil, the principle
of morality, which is implicitly denied in the perspective of the class
struggle.
IX. THE THEOLOGICAL APPLICATION OF THIS CORE 1. The positions here in question are often brought out explicitly in certain
of the writings of "theologians of liberation." In others, they follow logically
from their premises. In addition, they are presupposed in certain liturgical
practices, as for example a "Eucharist" transformed into a celebration of the
people in struggle, even though the persons who participate in these practices
may not be fully conscious of it. We are facing, therefore, a real system, even
if some hesitate to follow the logic to its conclusion. As such, this system is
a perversion of the Christian message as God entrusted it to His Church. This
message in its entirety finds itself then called into question by the
"theologies of liberation."
2. It is not the fact of social stratification with all its inequity
and injustice, but the theory of class struggle as the fundamental law of
history which has been accepted by these "theologies of liberation" as a
principle. The conclusion is drawn that the class struggle thus understood
divides the Church herself, and that in light of this struggle even ecclesial
realities must be judged. The claim is even made that it would be maintaining an
illusion with bad faith to propose that love in its universality can conquer
what is the primary structural law of capitalism.
3. According to this conception, the class struggle is the driving force of
history. History thus becomes a central notion. It will be affirmed that God
Himself makes history. It will be added that there is only one history, one in
which the distinction between the history of salvation and profane history is no
longer necessary. To maintain the distinction would be to fall into "dualism".
Affirmations such as this reflect historicist immanentism. Thus there is a
tendency to identify the kingdom of God and its growth with the human liberation
movement, and to make history itself the subject of its own development, as a
process of the self-redemption of man by means of the class struggle. This
identification is in opposition to the faith of the Church as it has been
reaffirmed by the Second Vatican Council. [23]
4. Along these lines, some go so far as to identify God Himself with history
and to define faith as "fidelity to history", which means adhering to a
political policy which is suited to the growth of humanity, conceived as a
purely temporal messianism.
5. As a consequence, faith, hope, and charity are given a new content: they
become "fidelity to history", "confidence in the future", and "option for the
poor." This is tantamount to saying they have been emptied of their theological
reality.
6. A radical politicization of faith's affirmations and of theological
judgments follows inevitably from this new conception. The question no longer
has to do with simply drawing attention to the consequences and political
implications of the truths of faith, which are respected beforehand for their
transcendent value. In this new system, every affirmation of faith or of
theology is subordinated to a political criterion, which in turn depends on the
class struggle, the driving force of history.
7. As a result, participation in the class struggle is presented as a
requirement of charity itself. The desire to love everyone here and now, despite
his class, and to go out to meet him with the non-violent means of dialogue and
persuasion, is denounced as counterproductive and opposed to love. If one holds
that a person should not be the object of hate, it is claimed nevertheless that,
if he belongs to the objective class of the rich, he is primarily a class enemy
to be fought. Thus the universality of love of neighbor and brotherhood become
an eschatological principle, which will only have meaning for the "new man", who
arises out of the victorious revolution.
8. As far as the Church is concerned, this system would see her only
as a reality interior to history, herself subject to those laws which are
supposed to govern the development of history in its immanence. The Church, the
gift of God and mystery of faith, is emptied of any specific reality by this
reductionism. At the same time, it is disputed that the participation of
Christians who belong to opposing classes at the same Eucharistic Table still
makes any sense.
9. In its positive meaning the Church of the poor signifies the
preference given to the poor, without exclusion, whatever the form of their
poverty, because they are preferred by God. The expression also refers to the
Church of our time, as communion and institution and on the part of her members,
becoming more fully conscious of the requirement of evangelical poverty.
10. But the "theologies of liberation", which reserve credit for restoring to
a place of honor the great texts of the prophets and of the Gospel in defense of
the poor, go on to a disastrous confusion between the poor of the
Scripture and the proletariat of Marx. In this way they pervert the
Christian meaning of the poor, and they transform the fight for the rights of
the poor into a class fight within the ideological perspective of the class
struggle. For them the Church of the poor signifies the Church of the
class which has become aware of the requirements of the revolutionary struggle
as a step toward liberation and which celebrates this liberation in its liturgy.
11. A further remark regarding the expression, Church of the People,
will not be out of place here. From the pastoral point of view, this expression
might mean the favored recipients of evangelization to whom, because of their
condition, the Church extends her pastoral love first of all. One might also
refer to the Church as people of God, that is, people of the New Covenant
established in Christ. [24]
12. But the "theologies of liberation" of which we are speaking, mean by
Church of the People a Church of the class, a Church of the oppressed
people whom it is necessary to "conscientize" in the light of the organized
struggle for freedom. For some, the people, thus understood,even become the
object of faith.
13. Building on such a conception of the Church of the People, a critique of
the very structures of the Church is developed. It is not simply the case of
fraternal correction of pastors of the Church whose behavior does not reflect
the evangelical spirit of service and is linked to old-fashioned signs of
authority which scandalize the poor. It has to do with a challenge to the
sacramental and hierarchical structure of the Church, which was willed by
the Lord Himself. There is a denunciation of members of the hierarchy and the
magisterium as objective representatives of the ruling class which has to be
opposed. Theologically, this position means that ministers take their origin
from the people who therefore designate ministers of their own choice in accord
with the needs of their historic revolutionary mission.
X. A NEW HERMENEUTIC 1. The partisan conception of truth, which can be seen in the revolutionary
praxis of the class, corroborates this position. Theologians who do not
share the theses of the "theology of liberation", the hierarchy, and especially
the Roman Magisterium are thus discredited in advance as belonging to the class
of the oppressors. Their theology is a theology of class. Arguments and
teachings thus do not have to be examined in themselves since they are only
reflections of class interests. Thus, the instruction of others is decreed to
be, in principle, false.
2. Here is where the global and all-embracing character of the theology of
liberation appears. As a result, it must be criticized not just on the basis of
this or that affirmation, but on the basis of its classist viewpoint, which it
has adopted a priori, and which has come to function in it as a
determining principle.
3. Because of this classist presupposition, it becomes very difficult, not to
say impossible, to engage in a real dialogue with some "theologians of
liberation" in such a way that the other participant is listened to, and his
arguments are discussed with objectivity and attention. For these theologians
start out with the idea, more or less consciously, that the viewpoint of the
oppressed and revolutionary class, which is their own, is the single true point
of view. Theological criteria for truth are thus relativized and subordinated to
the imperatives of the class struggle. In this perspective, orthodoxy or
the right rule of faith, is substituted by the notion of orthopraxy as
the criterion of the truth. In this connection it is important not to confuse
practical orientation, which is proper to traditional theology in the same way
that speculative orientation is, with the recognized and privileged priority
given to a certain type of praxis. For them, this praxis is the
revolutionary 4. For the "theologies of liberation" however, the social doctrine of the
Church is rejected with disdain. It is said that it comes from the illusion of a
possible compromise, typical of the middle class which has no historic destiny.
5. The new hermeneutic inherent in the "theologies of liberation"
leads to an essentially political re-reading of the Scriptures. Thus, a
major importance is given to the Exodus event inasmuch as it is a liberation
from political servitude. Likewise, a political reading of the "Magnificat" is
proposed. The mistake here is not in bringing attention to a political dimension
of the readings of Scripture, but in making of this one dimension the principal
or exclusive component. This leads to a reductionist reading of the Bible.
6. Likewise, one places oneself within the perspective of a temporal
messianism, which is one of the most radical of the expressions of
secularization of the Kingdom of God and of its absorption into the immanence of
human history.
7. In giving such priority to the political dimension, one is led to deny the
radical newness of the New Testament and above all to misunderstand the
person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, true God and true man, and thus the specific
character of the salvation he gave us, that is above all liberation from sin,
which is the source of all evils.
8. Moreover in setting aside the authoritative interpretation of the Church,
denounced as classist, one is at the same time departing from tradition. In that
way, one is robbed of an essential theological criterion of interpretation, and
in the vacuum thus created, one welcomes the most radical theses of rationalist
exegesis. Without a critical eye, one returns to the opposition of the "Jesus of
history" versus the "Jesus of faith."
9. Of course the creeds of the faith are literally preserved, especially the
Chalcedonian creed, but a new meaning is given to them which is a negation of
the faith of the Church. On one hand, the Christological doctrine of Tradition
is rejected in the name of class; on the other hand, one claims to meet again
the "Jesus of history" coming from the revolutionary experience of the struggle
of the poor for their liberation.
10. One claims to be reliving an experience similar to that of Jesus. The
experience of the poor struggling for their liberation, which was Jesus'
experience, would thus reveal, and it alone, the knowledge of the true God and
the Kingdom.
11. Faith in the Incarnate Word, dead and risen for all men, and whom "God
made Lord and Christ" [25] is denied. In its place is substituted a figure of
Jesus who is a kind of symbol who sums up in Himself the requirements of the
struggle of the oppressed.
12. An exclusively political interpretation is thus given to the death of
Christ. In this way, its value for salvation and the whole economy of redemption
is denied.
13. This new interpretation thus touches the whole of the Christian mystery.
14. In a general way, this brings about what can be an inversion of symbols.
Thus, instead of seeing, with St. Paul, a figure of baptism in the Exodus, [26]
some end up making of it a symbol of the political liberation of the people.
15. When the same hermeneutical criterion is applied to the life and to the
hierarchical constitution of the Church, the relationship between the hierarchy
and the "base" becomes the relationship of obedient domination to the law of the
struggle of the classes. Sacramentality, which is at the root of the ecclesial
ministries and which makes of the Church a spiritual reality which cannot be
reduced to a purely sociological analysis, is quite simply ignored.
16. This inversion of symbols is likewise verified in the area of the
sacraments. The Eucharist is no longer to be understood as the real
sacramental presence of the reconciling sacrifice, and as the gift of the Body
and Blood of Christ. It becomes a celebration of the people in their struggle.
As a consequence, the unity of the Church is radically denied. Unity,
reconciliation, and communion in love are no longer seen as a gift we receive
from Christ. [27] It is the historical class of the poor who by means of their
struggle will build unity. For them, the struggle of the classes is the way to
unity. The Eucharist thus becomes the Eucharist of the class. At the same time,
they deny the triumphant force of the love of God which has been given to us.
XI. ORIENTATIONS 1. The warning against the serious deviations of some "theologies of
liberation" must not be taken as some kind of approval, even indirect, of those
who keep the poor in misery, who profit from that misery, who notice it while
doing nothing about it, or who remain indifferent to it. The Church, guided by
the Gospel of mercy and by the love for mankind, hears the cry for justice [28]
and intends to respond to it with all her might.
2. Thus a great call goes out to all the Church: with boldness and courage,
with far-sightedness and prudence, with zeal and strength of spirit, with a love
for the poor which demands sacrifice, pastors will consider the response to this
call a matter of the highest priority, as many already do.
3. All priests, religious, and lay people who hear this call for justice and
who want to work for evangelization and the advancement of mankind, will do so
in communion with their bishop and with the Church, each in accord with his or
her own specific ecclesial vocation.
4. Aware of the ecclesial character of their vocation, theologians will
collaborate loyally and with a spirit of dialogue with the Magisterium of the
Church. They will be able to recognize in the Magisterium a gift of Christ to
His Church [29] and will welcome its word and its directives with filial
respect.
5. It is only when one begins with the task of evangelization understood in
its entirety that the authentic requirements of human progress and liberation
are appreciated. This liberation has as its indispensable pillars: the truth
about Jesus the Savior; the truth about the Church; and 6. An effective defense of justice needs to be based on the truth of mankind,
created in the image of God and called to the grace of divine sonship. The
recognition of the true relationship of human beings to God constitutes the
foundation of justice to the extent that it rules the relationships between
people. That is why the fight for the rights of man, which the Church does not
cease to affirm, constitutes the authentic fight for justice.
7. The truth of mankind requires that this battle be fought in ways
consistent with human dignity. That is why the systematic and deliberate
recourse to blind violence, no matter from which side it comes, must be
condemned. [32] To put one's trust in violent means in the hope of restoring
more justice is to become the victim of a fatal illusion: violence begets
violence and degrades man. It mocks the dignity of man in the person of the
victims and it debases that same dignity among those who practice it.
8. The acute need for radical reforms of the structures which conceal poverty
and which are themselves forms of violence, should not let us lose sight of the
fact that the source of injustice is in the hearts of men. Therefore it is only
by making an appeal to the moral potential of the person and to the
constant need for interior conversion, that social change will be brought about
which will be truly in the service of man. [33] For it will only be in the
measure that they collaborate freely in these necessary changes through their
own initiative and in solidarity, that people, awakened to a sense of their
responsibility, will grow in humanity. The inversion of morality and structures
is steeped in a materialist anthropology which is incompatible with the dignity
of mankind.
9. It is therefore an equally fatal illusion to believe that these structures
will of themselves give birth to a "new man" in the sense of the truth of man.
The Christian cannot forget that it is only the Holy Spirit who has been given
to us Who is the source of every true renewal and that God is the Lord of
History.
10. By the same token, the overthrow by means of revolutionary violence of
structures which generate violence is not ipso facto the beginning of a just
regime. A major fact of our time ought to evoke the reflection of all those who
would sincerely work for the true liberation of their brothers: millions of our
own contemporaries legitimately yearn to recover those basic freedoms of which
they were deprived by totalitarian and atheistic regimes which came to power by
violent and revolutionary means, precisely in the name of the liberation of the
people. This shame of our time cannot be ignored: while claiming to bring them
freedom, these regimes keep whole nations in conditions of servitude which are
unworthy of mankind. Those who, perhaps inadvertently, make themselves
accomplices of similar enslavements betray the very poor they mean to help.
11. The class struggle as a road toward a classless society is a myth which
slows reform and aggravates poverty and injustice. Those who allow themselves to
be caught up in fascination with this myth should reflect on the bitter examples
history has to offer about where it leads. They would then understand that we
are not talking here about abandoning an effective means of struggle on behalf
of the poor for an ideal which has no practical effects. On the contrary, we are
talking about freeing oneself from a delusion in order to base oneself squarely
on the Gospel and its power of realization.
12. One of the conditions for necessary theological correction is giving
proper value to the social meaning of the Church. This teaching is by no
means closed. It is, on the contrary, open to all the new questions which are so
numerous today. In this perspective, the contribution of theologians and other
thinkers in all parts of the world to the reflection of the Church is
indispensable today.
13. Likewise the experience of those who work directly for evangelization and
for the advancement of the poor and the oppressed is necessary for the doctrinal
and pastoral reflection of the Church. In this sense, it is necessary to affirm
that one becomes more aware of certain aspects of truth by starting with
praxis, if by that one means pastoral 14. The teaching of the Church on social issues indicates the main lines of
ethical orientation. But in order that it be able to guide action directly, the
Church needs competent people from a scientific and technological viewpoint, as
well as in the human and political sciences. Pastors should be attentive to the
formation of persons of such capability who live the Gospel deeply. Lay persons,
whose proper mission is to build society, are involved here to the highest
degree.
15. The theses of the "theologies of liberation" are widely popularized under
a simplified form, in formation sessions or in what are called "base groups"
which lack the necessary catechetical and theological preparation as well as the
capacity for discernment. Thus these theses are accepted by generous men and
women without any critical judgment being made.
16. That is why pastors must look after the quality and the content of
catechesis and formation which should always present the whole message of
salvation and the imperatives of true liberation within the framework of
this whole message.
17. In this full presentation of Christianity, it is proper to emphasize
those essential aspects which the "theologies of liberation" especially tend to
misunderstand or to eliminate, namely: God and true man; the sovereignty of
grace; and the true nature of the means of salvation, especially of the Church
and the sacraments. One should also keep in mind the true meaning of ethics in
which the distinction between good and evil is not relativized, the real meaning
of sin, the necessity for conversion, and the universality of the law of
fraternal love. One needs to be on guard against the politicization of existence
which, misunderstanding the entire meaning of the Kingdom of God and the
transcendence of the person, begins to sacralize politics and betray the
religion of the people in favor of the projects of the revolution.
18. The defenders of orthodoxy are sometimes accused of passivity,
indulgence, or culpable complicity regarding the intolerable situations of
injustice and the political regimes which prolong them. Spiritual conversion,
the intensity of the love of God and neighbor, zeal for justice and peace, the
Gospel meaning of the poor and of poverty, are required of everyone, and
especially of pastors and those in positions of responsibility. The concern for
the purity of the faith demands giving the answer of effective witness in the
service of one's neighbor, the poor and the oppressed in particular, in an
integral theological fashion. By the witness of their dynamic and constructive
power to love, Christians will thus lay the foundations of this "civilization of
love" of which the Conference of Puebla spoke, following Paul VI. [34] Moreover
there are already many priests, religious, and lay people who are consecrated in
a truly evangelical way for the creation of a just society.
CONCLUSION The words of Paul VI in his "Profession of Faith", express with full clarity
the faith of the Church, from which one cannot deviate without provoking,
besides spiritual disaser, new miseries and new types of slavery. "We profess
our faith that the Kingdom of God, begun here below in the Church of Christ, is
not of this world, whose form is passing away, and that its own growth cannot be
confused with the progress of civilization, of science, and of human technology,
but that it consists in knowing ever more deeply the unfathomable riches of
Christ, to hope ever more strongly in things eternal, to respond ever more
ardently to the love of God, to spread ever more widely grace and holiness among
men. But it is this very same love which makes the Church constantly concerned
for the true temporal good of mankind as well. Never ceasing to recall to her
children that they have no lasting dwelling here on earth, she urges them also
to contribute, each according to his own vocation and means, to the welfare of
their earthly city, to promote justice, peace and brotherhood among men, to
lavish their assistance on their brothers, especially on the poor and the most
dispirited. The intense concern of the Church, the bride of Christ, for the
needs of mankind, their joys and their hopes, their pains and their struggles,
is nothing other than the graet desire to be present to them in order to
enlighten them with the light of Christ, and join them all to Him, their only
Savior. It can never mean that the Church is conforming to the things of this
world, nor that she is lessening the earnestness with which she awaits her Lord
and the eternal Kingdom." [35]
This instruction was adopted at an Ordinary Meeting of the Sacred
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and was approved at an audience
granted to the undersigned Cardinal Prefect by his Holiness Pope John Paul II,
who ordered its publication.
Given at Rome, at the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on
August 6, 1984, the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord.
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger Alberto Bovone Footnotes
1. Cf. "Gaudium et Spes" n. 4. Transcribed by Bob Van Cleef
Vatican Translation
Prefect
Titular Archbishop of Caesarea in Numidia
Secretary
2. "Dei Verbum", n. 10.
3. Cf.
Galatians 5, 1 ff.
4. Cf. Exodus 24.
5. Cf. Jeremiah 31, 31-34; Ezekiel
36, 26 ff.
6. Cf. Zebediah 3, 12 ff.
7. Cf. Deuteronomy 10, 18-19.
8. Cf. Leviticus 10, 25-37.
9. 2 Corinthians 8, 9.
10. Matthew 25,
31-46; Acts 9, 4-5; Colossians 1, 24.
11. Jeremiah 5, ff.
12. Cf. 1
Corinthians 11, 17-34.
13. Cf. Jeremiah 2, 14-26.
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.
22. Paul VI, "Octogesima Adveniens", n.34 AAS 63 (1971)
pp. 424- 425.
23. "Lumen gentium", n.9-17.
24. Cf. "Gaudium et Spes",
n.39.
25. Cf. Acts 2, 36.
26. Cf. 1 Corinthians 10, 1-2.
27. Cf.
Ephesians 2, 11-22.
28. Cf. Doc. de Puebla, I, II, 3, 3.
29. Cf.
Luke 10, 16.
30. Cf. JOHN PAUL II, "Address at the Opening of the Conference
at Puebla", AAS 71 (1979) pp. 188-196; Doc. de Puebla II P,c,1.
31.
Cf. JOHN PAUL II, "Address to the Favela 'Vidigal' At Rio de Janeiro", 2 July
1980, AAS 72 (1980) pp.852-858.
32. Doc. de Puebla, II, c.II, 5, 4.
33. Cf. Doc. de Puebla,IV, c.3. 3. 1.
34. Cf. Doc. de
Puebla, IV, II, 2, 3.
35. PAUL VI, "Profession of Faith of the People of
God", 30 June 1968, AAS 60 (1968) pp.443-444.
