The church of San Jeronimo in Cusco, Peru © Graham Freer/ Progressio

Francis Chamberlain, s.j., considers what Aparecida means for the Latin American Church

I write these reflections a few weeks after the end of the 5th General Conference of bishops in Aparecida, Brazil, in May 2007, which I attended as an adviser on the outside to some Peruvian bishops.

For me, the conference was an important reaffirmation, as well as a new beginning, of the Latin American Church’s post Vatican II identity, an identity first vigorously affirmed in Medellín in 1968. It represents a new beginning because it responds to important changes within Latin America in recent decades: the impact of globalisation, the continuing and even growing disparities between wealthy sectors benefiting from the new economic reality and the poverty and exclusion of millions, and the threat of ecological devastation and its consequences especially for the poor due to unfettered economic exploitation. The Aparecida document tackles all of these and other challenges, and on the whole it comes off, I believe, with high marks.

Pope’s benchmark

The Inaugural Address of Benedict XVI, which served as a benchmark for the work of the conference, started from the Pope’s affirmation that ‘the preferential option for the poor is implicit in the christological faith in the God who became poor for us in order to enrich us with His poverty (cf. 2 Cor 8-9).’ This is an explicit confirmation of the fundamental thesis grounding both experience and theological reflection in Latin America during the past 40 years. God’s love extends to all persons, and because of this, His love is most especially directed to the poor. The preferential option for the poor excludes no one and is thus a declaration of the universality of God’s love. Benedict’s words were also an implicit rejection of the idea that such an option, which is not optional for followers of Jesus, is not based on sociological or ideological premises. Its ground is faith in Jesus.

Although the phrase just cited does not come at the beginning of the address, the themes touched on in Benedict’s talk to the bishops can be, and I think should be, understood in the light of the preferential option.

These themes include:

• Human development: ‘In the effort to know the message of Christ and to make it the guide for one’s life, it must be remembered that evangelisation has always been united to human development and authentic Christian liberation.’
• Populorum Progressio: ‘[Populorum Progressio] makes clear that authentic development has to be integral, that is, oriented to the whole development of each and every person … and it invites everyone to overcome those grave social inequalities and enormous differences in the access to material goods.’
• Globalisation: ‘Although certain aspects [of globalisation] represent an achievement of the great human family … nevertheless it also carries the risk of vast monopolies and the conversion of economic gain as the supreme value … As in all areas of human activity, globalisation must be governed by ethics.’
• Social structures: ‘Just structures are … an indispensable condition for a just society, but they do not arise or function without the moral consent of society regarding fundamental values and the necessity of living out these values with their necessary renunciations, even of personal benefit.’

Latin American roots

The Pope touches of course on other themes, but the statements above demonstrate that Benedict put a very Latin American flavour on his talk. None of the topics mentioned are new in theological reflection and pastoral practice in this part of the Catholic world. But that is precisely the point: Benedict in effect put his seal of approval on a way of reflecting and living the Gospel that has its roots in Medellín and the succeeding Episcopal conferences during these last 40 years. In doing so, Benedict was letting the bishops know that the ball was in their court, and on their terms.

For the bishops, the first order of business was the question of methodology. The Medellín and Puebla documents were structured around the methodology of see–judge–act. Santo Domingo in 1992 overturned that method and put judging, that is theological reflection, before the assessment (seeing) of concrete reality. It was said then, falsely I believe, that Christian reflection and acting cannot be grounded on mere sociological considerations. The fallacy in this way of thinking is based on the idea that ‘seeing’ reality for a Christian is only a sociological task. From a truly Christian perspective, the effort to ‘see’ is always done in the light of the Gospel.

Before the conference the great majority of national Episcopal conferences requested that the methodology of see–judge–act be reinstated. The decision on the structure of the document was therefore a crucial decision by the bishops, not in any way a declaration of independence from Rome, but rather an affirmation of Latin American Catholic identity.

Defending nature

Among the major themes coming out of Aparecida, that will hopefully serve the Church and Latin American society in the coming years, was ecology. The South American continent is one of the richest areas of bio-diversity in the world. The Amazon rain forest produces close to 30 per cent of the planet’s oxygen. The continent has immense resources in water, minerals, timber, oil and gas. All of these resources are in danger of being destroyed by indiscriminant and unfettered economic exploitation. The conference forcefully expressed its concern over the growing devastation and contamination of the natural wealth of the continent, especially for those campesino and native populations whose source of livelihood is curtailed and even eliminated by the destruction and contamination of the natural environment of the region.

The struggle for the defense of the natural world is thus a new way of living the preferential option for the poor. The Aparecida document puts it this way: ‘The natural resources of Latin America suffer today an irrational exploitation, which leaves [in its path] a march of destruction and even death throughout our region. The present economic model must assume an enormous responsibility. It privileges the excessive search for wealth, over and above the lives of individuals and peoples and the care of the natural environment. The devastation of our forests and its bio-diversity by selfish and depredatory practices implies a moral responsibility of those who so act. It puts in danger the lives of millions of persons and, especially, the habitat of campesinos and Indians.’

Facing down poverty

The Aparecida document states that the present style of globalisation has produced ‘new faces of the poor’. Globalisation is not something that benefits all people, but only a relatively select few. The document proposes that the Church join the struggle for a new kind of globalisation, what the bishops call ‘the globalisation of solidarity’. Such global solidarity demands working for the common good: ‘Work for the common global good must promote a just regulation of the world’s economy, financial movements, and commerce. It is urgent that external debt be cancelled to make investment in the social sector viable. Regulations must be put in place to prevent and control capital speculation. Justice in commerce must be promoted along with the progressive lowering of protectionist barriers by the powerful. Just prices for the raw materials produced by poor countries are urgently needed. There must be norms created for attracting and regulating foreign investment and other services.’

The Aparecida document is good news for Latin America and its Church. It is not a perfect document: for example, the place of women in the Church and in society is considered in the document, but one gets the feeling that what was said was simply not enough. But at least the bishops took the ball that Benedict threw them and played their own game. One of the priest delegates at the end of the conference put it this way: ‘The spirit of Medellín is alive!’ It is a spirit that is alive and well and open to the new challenges of our day.

Francis Chamberlain is a member of the Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus. This article first appeared in Interact magazine, Summer 2007.