Boston College recently hosted a panel to discuss the murder of six Jesuits, their housekeeper, and her daughter, and the implications of this crime for our own society. On the panel were University chancellor Fr. J. Donald Monan, S.J., liberation theologian Fr. Jon Sobrino, S.J., and renowned linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky of MIT.
Fr. Monan began the discussion by giving a brief account of the shootings, and recalling his own involvement in working to bring the killers to justice, only to see all of them be acquitted, despite having confessed in quite a convincing fashion. Shortly after the trial, the Salvadoran government adopted an amnesty policy which protected criminals during the twelve years war, an act which ended up protecting the confessed killers from any further prosecution. Things appear to have changed somewhat twenty years later, said Fr. Monan, with the new Salvadoran president recently recognizing and honoring the six Jesuits. Nonetheless, despite a new government, Fr. Monan emphasized the need for truth in addition to reconciliation on the path to justice, and the duty of the Salvadoran leaders to solve the injustices which remain even after twenty years.
After Fr. Monan, Fr. Jon Sobrino spoke both about the UCA killings and about the obligations which all governments owe to assisting the poor and suffering in their nations. Fr. Sobrino began by describing Julia Elba Ramos, the housekeeper of the slain Jesuits who was also killed by the Salvadoran military, as the “symbol of the crucified people.” Much of his talk focused on relating innocent, suffering people to Christ, as he often referred to the poor as “crucified ones,” and spoke often of the need to reconstruct society and make room for the Holy Spirit in political, social, and economic structures.
Lastly, Noam Chomsky concluded the presentation by discussing the disparity between the rich and the poor in today’s world, and the problem with widespread ignorance of events happening outside of what he referred to as “the culture of imperialism.” Referencing President Obama’s claim that his generation had witnessed “a world changed without guns,” Chomsky stated that such an assertion could be made only if one ignores the atrocities committed in Latin America, something of which he feels many Americans are guilty. Additionally, Professor Chomsky commented on the relationship between liberation theology and the Second Vatican Council, saying the former fits perfectly with the latter’s commitment to “return to the Gospels.” Such a revival of Christianity, though, according to Chomsky, has been very much destroyed by the problems in Latin America over the past few decades.
Much of what was said did, in fact, harmonize quite nicely with Catholic social doctrine. As Fr. Monan said very well, the murder of the six Jesuits, Julia Ramos, and her daughter, was a glaring injustice which ought to have been addressed by the Salvadoran government twenty years ago. Additionally, as touched on by Fr. Sobrino and Professor Chomsky, governmental oppression of the poor, and the indifference of common people to their suffering are truly wrong, and opposed to the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. However, while the discussion had quite a few praiseworthy elements to it, there nonetheless were certain problems underlying many of the comments.
In 2006, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a notification on Fr. Sobrino’s works, indicating that a number of them “contain notable discrepancies with the faith of the Church,” namely with regards to his views on the Incarnation and the undue emphasis of his theology on “the Church of the poor,” rather than on the teachings of the Catholic faith. Ultimately, these criticisms serve to demonstrate the fundamental problem of liberation theology; the fact is built on the premises of what 20th century philosopher Romano Amerio called “secondary Christianity.”
As Amerio says in his great work Iota Unum, “The specific flaw in secondary Christianity… is its setting aside of the transcendent.” He goes on to say that “This ignoring of our heavenly goal turns religion upside down by reversing its perspectives,” reducing Christianity to a means to an end while deifying civilization and economic liberation. To do as Fr. Sobrino does, and speak about the role of the Church in helping the poor and transforming societies is not in and of itself harmful; quite the contrary, it is a good and praiseworthy thing if it is related to the Church’s supernatural goals. But to discuss these things while making hardly any mention of the Divinity of Christ or of the next life leaves the Catholic faith incomplete and essentially altered, lacking the supernatural end for which these acts of charity are undertaken.
When one examines the problems with Fr. Sobrino’s statements, the issues with Chomsky’s comments also become apparent. To call liberation theology a “return to the Gospel” and speak as if Vatican II somehow woke the Church from a 1500 year slumber demonstrates an immense ignorance of Scripture and pre and post-councilor Catholic social teaching. Catholics worship a God who says “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36), and seek after eternal blessedness not in this life, but in the world to come.
