Well, speak of the (ex) devil himself. Here is Leonardo Boff, the oft-smitten Catholic priest who extolled Liberation Theology and paid the price as the Vatican cracked down over the last 30+ years. He sees hope in the new pope, Francis I. So do I.
My own perspective is that living, working among the poor brings one to a different conclusion of "what is the purpose of church?" Or in my perspective, "the various churches."
Just one peek from my perspective in Cochabamba:
- Where we live is on the outskirts of town in a semi-rural environment. The folks here are predominantly related to agriculture and manual trades. I would not use the term "poor" in that there appears to be enough to eat; ; houses have doors and roofs; I don't see children without clothes here; there is water most of the time; there is fairly reliable electric service; there are clinics and a health post; there is telephone service and for the last 6+ month broadband internet. AND I can tell you that within 1/2 mile of the house there are at least three churches in operation.
- In the far countryside of really rural Bolivia things are the inverse: I've seen hungry people living in dwellings without proper doors (just a blanket) and thatched roofs: this is how the vinchuga bug gets into your house, bites you and gives you a deadly disease called 'Chagas Disease.' There is no readily available water supply. A health post may be 2-4 hours hike or longer. No police. Depending on your locale there might be cellular service; forget the internet. If you live within a few kilometers of a road there might be electricity. I've seen children without clothes and certainly without shoes. There are few established churches. OR in the case of my previous employer there were churches in the far rural areas that were essentially abandoned when the Great Recession hit.
- In town: all of the basic services. While there is a noticeable homeless population, one could say that the problems of the rural and semi-rural areas are not visible. And there are lots of churches. All the way from small house based churches to truly massive structures hundreds of years old.
My observation is this: poverty in varying degrees surrounds the cities. What is not visible, not obvious is how the churches in the cities are involved in the rural "poverty infrastructure" combating poverty. If indeed the mantra of Liberation Theology that "God's preference is for the poor" one certainly doesn't see it in the churches that I know. Instead an inward focus on saving one's own soul, good music, good companionship, maybe a good sermon. As someone once upon a time enamored with Liberation Theology what I see is a huge disconnect between the reality of life and the collective response of the Christian churches.
I hope that Leonardo Boff is right. And I hope that if indeed the Catholic church can recast its vision that the rest of Christianity can follow suit.
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