The 'revolutionary virus' of the gospel
Interview with Father Antoine Gisler
On January 28, Pope John Paul II began his sixth visit to Latin America, his aim, amongst others being to stem the tide of the so-called liberation theology which is causing deep divisions inside the Catholic Church.
Addressing Venezualan bishops shortly after his arrival he denounced liberation theology on the grounds that it sought 'an illusory earthly liberation'. The pope wished to make it quite clear that he is not 'only for the poor' and that he does not as pope represent any particular class, as the Episcopal Secretariat of Central America and Panama emphasised before his last visit.
Liberation theologists, on the other hand, make it quite clear that they are for the poor and in the following interview conducted by La
Breche, the paper of the Swiss section of the Fourth International, ponry to live for 1 year a he An tilles and four years in Senegal.
Question. What do you understand by liberation theology?
Answer. Liberation theology is at the moment mainly a phenomenon of the
Third World. It was born in a context of oppression and the struggle against that oppression; it is identified as an element of that struggle. It has been nourished in the field of the practice and experience of munities at the Base (CEB). Anyone who wants to understand it must understand these organisations.
A CEB meeting to-earth issues: problems of water; or the repair of a road; vaccinations; redundant workers. CEB members also read the Bible and discuss it. In it they find a god who takes the side of the oppressed. They feel growing inside them the idea of liberating themselves through
'revolutionary virus' as Charles Maurras
(1) once called the gospel.
Apart from all this they try to understand, to analyse and get to know the causes of exploitation which the Third
World countries are the victim of. So they find out about how it works; about the mechanism of the market, and other socio-economic structures. They are witnesses to the existence of social classes and their antagonistic nature. Members of the CEBs action, in self-help, in trade union work
International Viewpoint 25 February 1985
The campaign against liberation theology does not emanate only from the
In 1980 in Washington the Institute for Religion and Democracy was under the direction of
Peter Burger, a protestant sociologist and Michel Novak, a catholic journal-
This hallowed institution was specially set up to stop aid going from
North American christian groups to the popular church in Latin America to proponents of liberation This institute is financed by several organisations some of which are not a million miles away from the Recertainly are very mysterious.. etc. The fundamental aim, as the saying goes, is not to interprete the world but
Q. And where does theology come in
A. We are fully involved. In thinking about biblical texts or about the god you find there and his role in the history of mankind, CEB members are developing theology. They do need - and they are the first to recognise it, fraternal help from a professional, that is a theologian. But that person has to get involved with them and stand with them in their fight explained by the distance which Roman officials have from the struggle against oppression. For it was in this context that liberation theology was born and continues to grow. These ideas are proved in struggle. Leonardo Boff (one of the main proponents of liberation theology who was interrogated by Rome last September) it seems invited his hosts in Rome to accompany him to Brazil to see the CEBs at work and to see the favellas (the shanty towns in Brazil).
Q. Exactly what are the stakes involved in liberation theology?
A. It's a question of god and the Bible. It's a matter of knowing that the poor and the weak will no longer submit to oppression, that they will be treated according to the dignity which they have in the eyes of god. This is important because christians are aware of this and are turning their hopes towards Nicaragua, for example. They see good reasons to get involved in the revolutionary process underway in this country. By the same token they note with alarm the silence of Rome in the face of the aggression which Nicaragua is being subjected to when all it is trying to do is to build a more brotherly society, in fact one more in conformity with god's will.
Q. The influence of Marxists is one of the things main accusations made by Rome against liberation theology. What does this recourse to Marxism consist of and why does Rome attach so much imp ortance to it?
A. Marxism for liberation provides a useful tool for understanding the mechanisms through which oppression is transmitted to whole populations, mainly in the Third World. To put it simply, what we borrow from Marxism is the method of analysis of society. However, Marxism as an atheist philosophy is explicitly rejected
On the other hand, Rome considers that it is not possible to separate Marx's method of analysis of society and his philosphy. The theologists of liberation take an opposite view, and one which is also held by many Marxists themselves. 1. Charles Maurras was a leader of Action Francaise before the Second World War in France and a right-wing theoretician.
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