A Lesson on Liberation

By Richard N. Ostling

Beginning with pronouncements during his 1979 visit to Latin America, Pope John Paul II has devoted great attention to establishing a carefully balanced policy on political activism for Roman Catholic clergy. On the one hand, he staunchly advocates social justice and wants priests and nuns to do likewise. On the other, he has warned the clergy about becoming too involved in secular affairs and about the dangers of Marxist ideology, especially in Latin America. The second theme was driven home in a stern 1984 Instruction on the Theology of Liberation, defining the "deviations" that the Vatican found in certain versions of the radical movement known as liberation theology.

Last week, with John Paul's endorsement, the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, headed by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, issued a major new pronouncement on liberation theology. The 17,000-word Instruction on Christian Freedom and Liberation reaffirms the earlier document but knits its warning about false, atheistic schemes into a positive discussion of human liberation as the work of God. The document affirms social justice as an essential responsibility of the church and even offers a carefully couched allowance for political revolution. The obvious aim: to position Rome as the leader of "authentic" liberation, as distinguished from unworthy forms.

In a related development, the Vatican unexpectedly dropped the sanctions that had been imposed on Franciscan Father Leonardo Boff, the leading liberation theologian of Brazil, who had been forbidden to speak publicly for nearly a year. "The decision on my case cleansed the atmosphere before publication of the document," said Boff, who teaches at a seminary in Petropolis. He believes that the lifting of sanctions demonstrated a new Vatican attitude of openness and "confidence in the (Brazilian) bishops," two-thirds of whom side with some form of liberation theology. Nonetheless, Rome's action has not eliminated the rift between Boff and conservatives in the hierarchy. Moreover, it is still uncertain whether Rome will require Boff to retract some of the arguments in his troublesome book Church: Charism and Power (Crossroad), which described the relation between the hierarchy and laity in terms of class struggle.

According to Vatican sources, it was the Pope's idea to issue the documents on liberation theology, a negative warning followed by a more positive evocation of freedom. Ratzinger's opponents, fearing his hard-line reputation, lobbied to have John Paul take over the second document and write it as an encyclical. Instead, the Pope and Ratzinger agreed to incorporate advice on the contents of the second text from 35 national conferences of bishops, and as a result the Instruction has a moderate tone. The general drift of the new Instruction became known at an extraordinary meeting at the Vatican last month between the Pope and leading Brazilian bishops. John Paul told the Brazilians that, "purified of elements that could adulterate it, with grave consequences for the faith, this theology of liberation is not only orthodox but necessary."

The Instruction asserts that the basis of liberation is the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ, which have "freed us from the most radical evil, namely sin and the power of death." Social sins result from personal sinfulness and are fundamentally spiritual. By failing to recognize this, and by making good and evil relative, revolutionary movements that deny God may promise liberation but frequently violate human rights and produce "new forms of slavery."

While championing social justice, the Instruction insists that "the political and economic running of society is not a direct part of (the church's) mission," and it warns the clergy against secular preoccupations: "It is not for the pastors of the Church to intervene directly in the political construction and organization of social life." The document states that this is instead the job of the laity, a teaching of the Second Vatican Council that John Paul has often emphasized.

The Instruction contends that it is "perfectly legitimate" for oppressed peoples to use "morally licit means" like labor unions to seek their rights. However, "systematic recourse to violence put forward as the necessary path to liberation has to be condemned as a destructive illusion and one that opens the way to new forms of servitude." Accordingly, Christianity's commitment to the poor cannot be "a partisan choice and a source of conflict." Such words are aimed at liberation theologians who have openly adopted the Marxist advocacy of class struggle.

Citing Pope Paul VI's 1967 encyclical Populorum Progressio, the document accepts armed struggle "as a last resort to put an end to an obvious and prolonged tyranny which is gravely damaging the fundamental rights of individuals and the common good." However, the Instruction teaches that reform or passive resistance are far preferable methods for change, both morally and practically. Christian activists, says Rome, must never countenance terrorism or hatred of enemies.

Father Gustavo Gutierrez of Peru, one of the founders of liberation theology, considers the new document a "relaunching" of the movement. "It closes a chapter; a new, more positive period is beginning." At the Vatican, a prelate knowledgeable about strategy on social issues is anxious: "The danger is that this document is so positive that some theologians will feel they've been right all along." For the "complete interpretation" of official thinking, he insists, both the negative earlier document and the newer one must be followed.

With reporting by Erik Amfitheatrof/Rome and Gavin Scott/Rio de Janeiro