Pope Francis 21st Century Liberation Theology

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FROM the time of his election as head of the Catholic Church two years ago, Pope Francis has captured the attention of the world in the most dramatic manner. This is remarkable, as he comes a mere decade after the passing of the equally charismatic John Paul 11, who headed the church for 27 long years. It is not often that you have two transformative figures coming from the same institution in quick succession. Pope Francis’ current visit to Cuba and the USA reflects the huge reach of his influence and standing, not just in the Catholic Church but in the wider Christian and non-Christian world. What accounts for this pope’s popularity? Clearly, he has touched something in our collective human spirit. If John Paul was a crusader against the threat to religious freedom which he saw as manifested mostly in communism, Francis has taken our gaze back to one of the core Christian and human values – the value of the least among us. Not since the 1970s has the Church, or part of it, articulated a clear defence and lifting up of the poor. The 1970s was, of course, the period of Liberation Theology, which divided the Catholic Church. Some feared the similarities of the message with those of Marxism and fought to contain or root out its growing influence. Ironically, Pope Francis, then a leader of the Jesuits in Argentina, was not a supporter of Liberation Theology. He was viewed as among the most conservative leaders in the Argentinian Catholic Church. Yet, four decades later, here he is as the global leader and inspiration of a 21st century Liberation Theology; a Christian praxis that centres the liberation of the poor and defenceless. Pope Francis and his message come at a time when global politics, economics, popular culture and education had pushed the plight of the poor to the margins of policy and discourse. Unbridled capitalism, whether as neo-liberal political economy or globalisation has dominated our world for the last three decades. In the process, the poor have been blamed for their poverty, governments have abandoned their sacred role of defending the weak against the strong, development has come to mean development of the market and the elites therein and organised religion has been indifferent to the socio-economic and other forms of violence perpetrated against the poor. Pope Francis stands as a rebuke to these developments. His critique of capitalism is moral rather than ideological. He challenges his church to move beyond its own narrowness and in the process calls the world to action. He is not afraid to confront vexing issues such as immigration, social inequality, capital punishment, ‘otherisation’ and environmental destruction. His call to America during his speech to the joint session of Congress to heed the “golden rule” is timely. His help in healing the wounds inflicted by the United States embargo on Cuba is a most noble service that hopefully brings the wretched Cold War to final closure. His own public pledge of poverty parades before the world the dignity of the poor. His constant reference to Martin Luther King Jr during his current visit to the USA shows that he is a Pope who is in tune with the scourge of racism. And his call for political morality in politics draws us to a new political frontier. Here in Guyana, Pope Francis’ message and example should find fertile ground as we recover from our long period of alienation. The widespread poverty that stalks our land needs the determined and deliberate intervention of the strong and the powerful, including the government. The poor in our midst are God’s children too. So we must join Pope Francis’ crusade against inequality and want.