Liberation theology

by CK

One of our first class discussions brought about the topic of liberation theology and its relation to socialism and further Marxist principles. When this question was posed, I began to think about it and tried to come up with a reply that was relevant to class at the time. I made mention that when I thought about socialism, I thought more about economic issues as opposed to moral and theological issues. This question stuck with me since then, and I began to look into it further. Indeed, much of liberation theology is rooted in socialist and Marxist ideology, and that has been one of the major criticisms by the Catholic Church of liberation theology. While I acknowledge the fact that this way of thinking parallels that of socialism, I still feel that liberation theology is more based on principles of justice rather than economics. Since my initial introduction to liberation theology a couple years ago, I have always found it extremely interesting and something that I can see myself working within at some point in my life. I hope to go into medicine and work to eliminate health disparities in the world.

One advocate for those who are unable to gain access to affordable, quality health care is Dr. Paul Farmer. Dr. Farmer began an organization called Partners in Health (PIH) which works to deliver adequate health care to victims of oppression in Haiti, Peru, and Russia. He bases much of his work on the principles of liberation theology, primarily the ideas of a preferential option for the poor and trying to eliminate structural violence in the poorest of countries. The governments in the three countries that PIH operates have a history of allowing their poor to be denied access to basic forms of medicine. This is the structural violence that Farmer recognizes and works to eliminate by providing affordable medicines, implementing effective medication programs against diseases such as tuberculosis (TB) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), and building and staffing clinics for people to be seen by trained medical personnel.

Dr. Farmer is also an avid author, who uses his first hand experiences to spread awareness about structural violence and put pressure on those committing these crimes. One of his works, Pathologies of Power, uses the concepts of structural violence and liberation theology to "understand the nature and distribution of extreme suffering". With respect to structural violence, Farmer "use[s] this term as a broad rubric that includes a host of offenses against human dignity: extreme and relative poverty, social inequalities ranging from racism to gender inequality, and the more spectacular forms of violence that are uncontestedly humans rights abuses, some of them punishment for efforts to escape structural violence" (Farmer 2003, p. 8). However, some of Farmer's arguments bring me back to my initial question of where liberation theology falls in regards to socialist ideology. Farmer argues that social and economic inequality lead to greater oppression of human rights. So, in some aspect, liberation theology is related to economic policies because economic inequalities lead to greater violations of human rights. So maybe it is necessary for liberation theology to hold on to some of its socialist ideals in order to accomplish its main goal: to uphold a preferential option for the poor.

I would like to end with a quote I enjoy thoroughly from Oscar Romero, a big advocate for liberation theology. I feel that it really does well to exemplify the true nature of liberation theology:

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.