Benedict XVI against CELAM in Medellin 1968...40 years later Liberation Theology is alive and well

The poor bleeds injustice with their hands on the walls while Benedict XVI and Opus Dei hands are soft laden with wealth as they live in the lap of luxury at the Vatican Palace that rivals King Herod Palace.


To Benedict XVI and the Opus Dei, Liberation Theology (is not their forte) is a "red communist" theology and is therefore "silenced" theology together with its Liberation Theologians Jesuit Jon Sobrino.

Opus Dei wallows in those Latin and drugged-theology of John Paul II because it make them feel good and enjoy their wealth while looking down and ignoring the poor and their plight for justice (like poor Lazarus eating the crumbs from the Rich Man).

Opus Dei has no poor members. Opus Dei only recruit the elite and the Ivy League and now support Obama. Opus Dei mainstream media is attacking McCain and Palin like a pack of wolves -- see articles in past days in this blog and the John Paul II Millstone www.jp2m.blogspot.com .

2008 is the 40th anniversary of CELAM at Medellin in 1968. The Jesuit Liberation Theology theologians celebrated in Ireland this October with a conference and it shows that Liberation Theology is alive and well -- and that Opus Dei and Benedict XVI CANNOT kill nor silence Liberation Theology because it will be the Theology of the Church soon as Benedict XVI and Opus Dei disappear from the face of the Church very soon because Our Lady of Fatima said it so...that is why the Third Secret of Fatima is being kept secret. The Vatican with all its Opus Dei wealth shall disappear like smoke as was the vision of Pope Leo X...and the Third Secret of Fatima!!!

---<

http://www.amdg.ie/2008/10/14/milltown-colloquium-on-liberation-theology/#more-1658

Jim Corkery SJ was one of five main speakers at a colloquium on liberation theology held in Milltown Institute on 3-4 October. The colloquium was designed to mark the 40th anniversary of the CELAM Conference at Medellín in 1968. Jim’s paper assessed the various responses of Joseph Ratzinger to liberation theology, while other papers examined the historical context of the movement, its current status, its role in Africa, and its contribution to feminist theology. For a full report on the colloquium, read the article by Patrick Claffey SVD below.

Liberation Theology: Movement or Moment?

Colloquium at the Milltown Institute, DublinPatrick Claffey SVD
Department of Mission Theology and Culture, Milltown Institute

A large gathering of almost two hundred people, including many missionaries and former missionaries, as well as several distinguished international and local academics attended a colloquium at the Milltown Institute, Dublin, on October 3-4 to mark the 40th anniversary of the CELAM Conference at Medellin in 1968. Medellin is seen by many as a pivotal moment in the development of liberation theology throughout Latin America and its later development in different forms in Asia and Africa, as well as its influence on other movements in contextual theology, notably amongst women and minorities. Opening the conference the Rector of the Pontifical Athenaeum at Milltown, Professor Finbarr Clancy, recalled the Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero and the Jesuit martyrs of El Salvador and others who had given their lives in the cause of liberation, justice and peace.

The conference sought to address two questions: “Was liberation theology a broad-based and significant ecclesial and theological movement or was it simply an historical moment, somewhat like May 1968 in Paris which when viewed forty years on may not have represented quite what it seemed to at that time? The second question was “where is it now?”

Dr David Tombs of the Irish School of Ecumenics, Belfast, in an historical overview of liberation theology in Latin America suggested that it had three significant moments in 1968: the Jesuit Provincials meeting with Pedro Arrupe in Latin America in May, Guttierez’ Chimbote paper “Toward a Theology of Liberation in July and Medellin II in August. Dr Tombs also noted three historical movements: a movement of growth and change in the 1970s followed by a movement of deepening and expansion in the 1980s, and in the 1990s by a movement of crisis and adjustment in the face of geo-political and theological developments. In conclusion he suggested that liberation theology had left us three legacies: the Methodology of the Second Step in the process of theologising, starting from the realty, notably that of the poor, and only then moving on to theologise, the Preferential Option for the Poor, and the search for a New Terminology, a new language, that will allow theology to reflect reality.

Dr James Corkery delivered a paper entitled Joseph Ratzinger on Liberation Theology: What Did He Say? Why Did He Say It? What Can Be Said About It? The paper examined the difficulties Joseph Ratzinger, the theologian, had with liberation theology and, particularly, with the work of Gustavo Gutierrez, an early and still iconic figure in the movement. He also examined briefly the 1984 Instruction on Certain Aspects of the “Theology of Liberation” and the Instruction on Christian Freedom and Liberation issued by Cardinal Ratzinger at the CDF two years later. In his conclusion the speaker noted that a certain amount of what has come to be perceived as Ratzinger’s almost visceral aversion and unstinting opposition to liberation theology has to do to some extent at least with an intellectual tendency on his part to identify “isms” (in this case, Marxist-influenced materialism) at the centre of a conception that he finds problematic and then to home in on these in a ‘going-for-the-jugular’ type move that shows no tolerance for allowing wheat and weeds to grow together, to be sifted in due time. Dr Corkery remarked, however, that whatever the vicissitudes of the past few years and the doubts that have been expressed about it, “liberation theology has left its footprints all over theology” and as such must be considered to have been more than a passing moment or an ephemeral movement.

American-Vietnamese theologian Professor Peter Phan of Georgetown University, challenging those who believed that liberation theology had in recent years been “vanquished”, told the colloquium that: “While it is true that liberation theology is no longer enjoying the kind of publicity and even notoriety as it was in the 1970s and 1980s, the announcement of its demise, at least in Asia, is, like Mark Twain’s, vastly premature and greatly exaggerated.” Referring to the title of the conference Professor Phan strongly suggested that “today in Asia, liberation theology is not only a movement of moment, because of its importance for Asian Christianity, but also a movement of the moment, because it is an appropriate and necessary response to the contemporary challenges facing Asia and the Asian Christianity.” How can Christianity help Asian people enmeshed in this complex society that often seems to crush them to “become subjects of their future and destiny and facilitate their struggle for liberation from the aftermath of colonisation, political oppression economic exploitation, communist regime, patriarchal domination, and racial discrimination?”

Dr Elochukwu Uzukwu reminded the conference that liberation theology had been a part of African Christianity long before Medellin. He pointed to African Initiated Churches springing up from the early part of the twentieth century and more recent charismatic movements both within and outside the mainstream historical churches as an indication that Africa was making the Christian faith its own and developing a Christianity that was entirely responsive to African reality in its emphasis on healing and social cohesion. He noted the academic development of this kind of theology notably in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in Cameroon but also elsewhere on the continent in the work of Englebert Mveng, Jean-Marc Ela and Kä Mana.

Professor Mary Grey acknowledged the shortcomings of liberation theology and the fact that it “has not transformed the world” and notes that “feminist liberation theology must be included in this criticism” but this is not to say that it has not had a history of real achievements. However in the current situation Professor Grey suggested “the category of liberation is itself too limited and has to be placed with other concepts in what [she] calls ‘praxis of reconciliation’. The demand is liberation – still a great ‘Cry freedom’ rises from all parts of the world. The emphasis is connectedness – we must keep on making links between the chains of oppression in diverse contexts; the corrective is suffering – are we prepared to commit to whatever it costs to brink about the restoration of relations? The Power is imaginations – we are discovering that the work of justice and peace depends not only on action, resistance and protest but on beauty, joy, celebration.”

In a paper entitled The End of Woman – Gender, Rights and God Beyond Modernity Professor Tina Beattie of Roehampton University sought to address two questions: “can the human rights movement provide a vehicle for the continuation of liberation theology in the postmodern context in which we find ourselves today, and what is the relationship between a political liberationist theology rooted in the language of human rights, and a sacramental theology expressed in the performative worship of the liturgy?” Professor Beattie asked both questions “with a particular focus on the significance of woman as political subject and sacramental presence.” In concluding her paper she wrote “To conclude, liberation theology was a moment in a movement. The movement continues, but ours is a different moment which requires a different language. I am suggesting that this language can be found in a politics of human rights which embraces secularism as an expression of its own kenotic incarnationality, but which is nurtured through a rich sacramentality which makes believe before God. This means acknowledging the end of woman in two different contexts: the end of woman as an essentialist ideal, in favour of woman as the rights-bearing subject of our political struggles, and the end of woman as the vocation of woman to flourishing and fulfilment in God, as the Christ-bearing person of our sacramental hope.”

The attendance at the conference, as well as the enthusiastic participation of both the speakers and the audience would certainly suggest that liberation theology is something they lived out of and to confirm the belief that it has left its footprints not only on theology but in the spirit of many who lived it out.

http://www.amdg.ie/2008/10/14/milltown-colloquium-on-liberation-theology/#more-1658

-----
ELECTION 2008

College associate editor says 'Obama is my Jesus'

'I've officially been saved, and soon, the rest of the country will be too'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: October 16, 2008
11:20 pm Eastern

© 2008 WorldNetDaily

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=78197



An associate editor of the campus newspaper at Massachusetts' Smith College has joined the chorus attributing to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama messianic characteristics, but she has gone one step further, calling Obama her "Jesus."

"Obama is my homeboy. And I'm not saying that because he's black – I'm saying that in reference to those Urban Outfitters T-shirts from a couple years ago that said, 'Jesus is my homeboy.' Yes, I just said it. Obama is my Jesus," wrote Maggie Mertens in the Smithsophian's commentary section recently under the headline: "I Will Follow Him: Obama As My Personal Jesus."

"While you may be overtly religious and find this to be idol-worshipping, or may be overtly politically correct and just know that everything in that sentence could be found offensive, I'm afraid it's true anyway," she wrote.


The writing prompted P.J. Gladnick, in a posting on NewsBusters.org, to express concern about Mertens' dedication to her "Jesus."

He cited her conclusion: "I've officially been saved, and soon, whether they like it or not, the rest of the country will be too. I will follow him, all the way to the White House, and I'll be standing there in our nation's capital in January 2009, when Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States of America. In the name of Obama, Amen."

"Saved, 'whether they like it or not.' That sounds like a threat to me," the NewsBusters report said. "What will you do, Maggie? Burn non-believers in your holy Barack at the Democrat party stake for being heretics?"

He said the problem is people turning Obama into a sort of spiritual savior, as WND reported radical Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan also has done with Obama.

"A lot of the commenters to this article were hoping that this was just satire by Maggie Mertens, NewsBusters' Gladnik said. "Your humble correspondent knows satire and this was definitely not satire. Mertens was serious although, after the richly deserved mocking she is sure to receive over her belief in Barack, she might try to squirm out of it by pulling a Sheryl Crow. … She might claim she was really just joking as Crow claimed after she was widely ridiculed by claiming we could fight global warming by using just one square of toilet paper per sitting. Crow was serious and so is Maggie Mertens in proclaiming Barack Obama as her savior."

Mertens also described Obama as "my miracle."

Get "The Audacity of Deceit: Barack Obama's War on American Values"

"Barack Obama bore to me his testimony in 2004 at the Democratic National Convention, a testimony that included believing in concepts as simple and wholesome as the Constitution; a belief the current administration had done away with entirely. … I was intrigued. I would follow him," she wrote.

"I must admit, I questioned this myself. After all, would I have ever bought a T-shirt with Al Gore's face on it? Was this all he was, the newest pop culture fad? I questioned my newfound faith – was it all only a phase, like the time I thought I was Baptist in junior high? But my inner dogmatic struggle only helped cement my beliefs," she continued.

"Wait, this is satire, right," wrote one participant in the newspaper's forum.

"It's very telling that people have to ask if this is satire, don't you think," said another.

"Um … whoa. I hope this is a parody. … If it isn't, I just don't know what to say except that your conception of the appropriate place of government and politicians in our lives appears to have reverted 2000+ years," added another.

On the NewsBusters site, the concern level was ratcheted up a notch.

"This is actually quite frightening. There are a lot of stories out there where people actually look at Obama as more of a deity than a typical politician," wrote one forum participant. "And I have yet to hear him counter it."


This messianic image of Obama was highlighted by ABC's Jake Tapper

NewBusters managing editor Ken Shepherd had earlier commented on the "penchant" in some media corporations "for selecting photographs of Sen. Barack Obama that make him appear rather, um, messianic."

He cited an ABC blog, which featured a photograph of Obama with a halo around his head, and raised similar questions.

Accompanying the critique of media image uses there was the headline: "There is Born to You This Day in the City of Chicago a Savior."

WND reported less than a week ago on comments from Farrakhan, another powerful Chicago-based political figure associated with the Obama's longtime pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who told an audience when Obama talks "the Messiah is absolutely speaking."

You can watch it for yourself on a newly posted YouTube video.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=78197

Addressing a large crowd behind a podium Feb. 24 with a Nation of Islam Saviour's Day 2008 sign, Farrakhan proclaims,

"You are the instruments that God is going to use to bring about universal change, and that is why Barack has captured the youth. And he has involved young people in a political process that they didn't care anything about. That's a sign. When the Messiah speaks, the youth will hear, and the Messiah is absolutely speaking."
WND also previously reported a website called "Is Barack Obama the Messiah?" captured the wave of euphoria that followed the Democratic senator's remarkable rise.

WND also reported when talk radio host Rush Limbaugh criticized Democrats who were comparing Obama to Jesus and Gov. Sarah Palin to Pontius Pilate.

"I know Jesus Christ. I pray to Jesus Christ all the time," said Limbaugh." I study what Jesus Christ did and said all the time, and let me tell you something, Barack Obama, you are no Jesus Christ."

Democrats, including party strategist Donna Brazile and Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., earlier made nearly identical biblical comparisons of the characters in this presidential election, which Limbaugh traced back to a Sept. 4 posting on a Washington blog.

"Barack Obama was a community organizer like Jesus," Cohen said during a one-minute speech on the floor of the U.S. House. "Pontius Pilate was a governor."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=78197


Related offers:

"The Audacity of Deceit: Barack Obama's War on American Values"

Get Jerome Corsi's "The Obama Nation," autographed by the author, exclusively from WND's online store.

Get the magnetized bumper sticker that is sure to be a political collector's item no matter how the election turns out: "Defeat Osama, Obama and Chelsea's Mama"

Get your NObama magnetized bumper sticker exclusively from WND's online store

Find out why you shouldn't vote for Obama or McCain this year in Joseph Farah's "None of the Above"

Get Whistleblower magazine's exclusive special report on Obama for just $7.50

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=78197

Previous stories:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=78197

Farrakhan on Obama: 'The Messiah is absolutely speaking'

Rush Limbaugh to Obama: 'You are no Jesus Christ'

Obama, Farrakhan share cover of Wright's monthly

Hamas worried its praise harming Obama

Obama adviser: Divide Jerusalem

Obama: Endorsement by Hamas makes sense

Ex-Obama adviser's pro-Hamas views 'well known'

Obama sacks adviser who met with Hamas

Obama, McCain trade barbs on Hamas endorsement

New Obama pastor will continue Wright's legacy

'I want to rip (Bill Clinton's) eyes out. Kidding!'

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=78197