Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

GetReligion

Home
Religion News
Pope Francis’ affinity for liberation theology — wait, what?

Pope Francis’ affinity for liberation theology — wait, what?

Last updated on: May 28, 2013 at 11:18 am by mollie

Pope Francis’ affinity for liberation theology — wait, what? 2013-05-28T11:18:39-04:00 mollie

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

For this post, we’re not going to critique past the first sentence of this New York Times story on Pope Francis headlined “Francis’ Humility and Emphasis on the Poor Strike a New Tone at the Vatican.” To be fair, that headline might have caused half of our Roman Catholic readers to spasm in response. But we’re not touching it. We’re going to look at just the first line. Here:

VATICAN CITY — He has criticized the “cult of money” and greed he sees driving the world financial system, reflecting his affinity for liberation theology.

Wait, what? Pope Francis’ “affinity” for liberation theology”? He sure has a curious way of showing that affinity, no?

Let’s go to John Allen over at National Catholic Reporter:

These were the years of the military junta in Argentina, when many priests, including leading Jesuits, were gravitating towards the progressive liberation theology movement. As the Jesuit provincial, Bergoglio insisted on a more traditional reading of Ignatian spirituality, mandating that Jesuits continue to staff parishes and act as chaplains rather than moving into “base communities” and political activism.

The Guardian:

A champion of those who rejected liberation theology, he was considered a candidate that everyone in the higher echelons of the church respects.

Catholic News Agency:

‘Chasm’ Exists Between Pope Francis and Liberation Theology
Even though the Holy Father has been praised by liberation theologians, he has always disagreed with that interpretation of the Gospel, even at the cost of finding himself isolated.

Catholic.org:

Bergoglio is an accomplished theologian who distanced himself from liberation theology early in his career.

From NPR and Michael Sean Winters:

Even as the former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was blasting “the tyranny of the markets” and lamenting wealth inequality, he was standing firm against the spread of liberation theology — the leftist economic movement that swept the church in the 1970s and 1980s.

“He’s not afraid to duke it out with either the right or the left, inasmuch as neither system really delivers any authentic notion of liberation,” says Michael Sean Winters, who writes a blog for the .

Exactly. While neither this pope — nor many previous popes, to be honest — is a fan of capitalism, particularly capitalism uninformed by Christianity, that doesn’t necessarily make any of them liberation theologians.

It’s very difficult to take a story seriously when the very first line is confused about something that’s actually been fairly well covered.

For a much more detailed response to the New York Times piece, you can check this out at National Review.

National Catholic Reporter

New York Times

Pope Francis

Previous Post

May 28, 2013

Original sin and anteaters in the Daily News

Next Post

May 28, 2013 Haunted story or not? On vampires, Satanism and murder

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 5Q+1 Academia Anglicanism Announcements Atheists & Agnostics Baptists Books Business & Economy Catholicism Creeping Fundamentalism Education Ethics Evangelicals Film First Person gays Godbeat Got news? Humor Interviews Islam Journalism Judaism Lutherans Mainline Marriage & family Middle East Mormons Music Nones Orthodoxy Pagans Pentecostalism People Podcasts Politics Pop Culture Race Radio & TV Religion religious liberty Same-sex marriage Science Sex Social Issues Sports Uncategorized Vatican Web/Tech What is this? World World Religions Worship

Select a Month August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 May 2010 July 2009 February 2009 October 2008 July 2008 January 2007 August 2006 July 2006 October 2005

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who became Moses' spokesperson to Pharaoh?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Joshua Hur Aaron Miriam