Pope Francis has made
some remarkable statements lately. He has said things we’ve never heard a pope say before.
"Tell
me: When God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this
person with love, or reject and condemn this person? We must always consider
the person."
"If
someone is gay and he searches for the Lord, and is a person of good will, who
am I to judge?"
He's criticized the church for putting dogma before
love, and for prioritizing moral doctrines over serving the poor. His vision is
for an inclusive church, a “home for all” — in striking contrast with his
predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, the doctrinal defender who envisioned a
smaller, purer church.
"The church sometimes has
locked itself up in small things, in small-minded rules. The most important
thing is the first proclamation: Jesus Christ has saved you."
"I have a dogmatic certainty:
God is in every person’s life. God is in everyone’s life. Even if the life of a
person has been a disaster, even if it is destroyed by vices, drugs or anything
else—God is in this person’s life. You can, you must try to seek God in every
human life. Although the life of a person is a land full of thorns and weeds,
there is always a space in which the good seed can grow. You have to trust
God."
"We must meet one another doing
good. 'But I don't believe, Father, I am an atheist!' But do good: we will meet
one another there."
“When it comes to social issues, it is one
thing to have a meeting to study the problem of drugs in a slum neighborhood
and quite another thing to go there, live there and understand the problem from
the inside and study it. There is a brilliant letter by Father Arrupe to
the Centers for Social Research and Action on poverty, in which he says clearly
that one cannot speak of poverty if one does not experience poverty, with a
direct connection to the places in which there is poverty."
"You know what I think about this? Heads of the Church
have often been narcissists, flattered and thrilled by their courtiers. The
court is the leprosy of the papacy."
To many observers Pope Francis has
clearly been influenced by a type of theology known as Liberation Theology. It began as a movement within
the Catholic Church in Latin America in the 1950s–1960s and arose
principally as a moral reaction to the poverty caused by social injustice in the region.
Liberation Theology is, "an interpretation of Christian
faith through the poor's suffering, their struggle and hope, and a critique of
society and the Catholic faith and Christianity through the eyes of the
poor" (Phillip Berryman).
Liberation Theology identities and
focuses on the poor, believing that God is on the side of the poor and their
struggle for justice. "The poor man, the other, reveals to totally Other
to us," wrote Peruvian Priest Gustavo Gutiérrez, who gave the movement its
name with his book, A Theology of Liberation (1968).
Liberation Theology does not believe
in a God who is "up there" or "out there," but rather a God
who is found in the course of human history, as the driving force for justice
and in "the crosses of the oppressed." God participates in the human
struggle for justice.
Liberation Theology puts
ortho-praxis (right living) over ortho-doxy (right belief).
Liberation Theology puts people
above the institution.
Liberation Theology has been highly
critical of the church for being complicit with those who oppress, supporting
the status quo and legitimating the power of the oppressors.
Prayer: Loving God, Thank
You for Pope Francis and his Christ-like vision. Use him to breathe new life
into all your people. Amen.
Extra Credit:
Liberation Theology is not without
its critics. Many have seen it as more of a political movement than a
theological one. Its Christology (the person and work of Christ) is often
limited to God simply identifying with the poor and their struggle, as opposed
to Christ dying and rising for all people. But for its call to a compassionate,
costly discipleship rooted and grounded in this world, Liberation Theology is
to be commended. It has certainly left its mark on one influential Christian -
the one who lives in a simple apartment in Vatican City.
