A prophet in arms

In the present day, when socialism and Marxism are passe, it seems anachronistic to talk about liberation theology. The faith originated ...

In the present day, when socialism and Marxism are passe, it seems anachronistic to talk about liberation theology. The faith originated in the Latin American countries where after more than 400 years of uninterrupted Christian rule, the vast majority found themselves drowning in a sea of poverty, illiteracy, discrimination and exploitation. In answer to the needs of these people, which the Catholic church had sometimes neglected, theologians emerged to give a new philosophy to the underdeveloped countries. Here, Christians were participating in the struggle to construct a just and fraternal society, in which men could live in dignity and be masters of their own destiny. Liberation theology has since spread to India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Africa.

Departing from classical and traditional theology, which used only revelation and tradition as starting points, Gutsav Gutierrez of Peru, the father of liberation theology, stated that 8220;a theology which has as its points of reference only truths8217; which have been established once and for all and not the truth which is also the way can only be static and in the long run sterile.8221;

The liberation theologians in the Catholic church believed that the method of analysis could be dissociated from its philosophical basis, dialectic materialism. They held that the Church condemns the philosophy of Marxism, not its scientific methods.

Among the most famous proponents of this theology and one of the principal activists was Camilo Torres, a Colombian social scientist and Christian revolutionary who was passionately concerned with radical solutions to the social, political and economic problems of Latin America. He talked about the two subcultures prevalent in Colombia in the Fifties and Sixties. One derived from an educated class, those having an annual income of over US 3,000, who represented 15 per cent of the population. The other 85 per cent were illiterate.

Talking about the rift between these two cultures and the lack of a dialogue, Camilo Torres wrote in a message to Christians that the essential quality of Catholicism was love for one8217;s neighbour. He wrote that for this love to be real, it must seek to be effective. If kindness, alms, the few free schools, the few housing plans and so-called charity8217; did not feed the majority of the hungry or clothe the majority of the naked, or teach the majority of the uneducated, more effective means must be sought.

Torres, a Catholic priest, asked the Cardinal to free him of his clerical obligations. He said, 8220;I sacrifice one of the rights that I love most dearly to be able to celebrate the external rite of the Church as a priest in order to create the conditions that make the cult more authentic.8221;

Persecuted by the secular authorities and misunderstood by the Church to which he dedicated his life, Torres was first a university lecturer, then an activist. He later ran an armed struggle from the Colombian mountains. On Febru-ary 16, 1966, he was killed there by a detachment of the regular army. As one writer put it, 8220;This date will be remembered in the social and religious history of Latin America. A fighter died, but a prophet was born.8221;The life of this priest and revolutionary may seem remote from our concerns. But for those who see the oppression of the poor and marginalised and would like to work towards a more equitable distribution of the goods of the earth, the life and writings of Camilo Torres cannot fail to inspire and edify. They also point to the true meaning of religion, which cannot be confined to a inward-looking individualism or to the supernatural, but takes a cue from present day history and tries to transform that history, and thereby forge a more just society.