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I was shocked to read last week that the Vatican rebuked Jon Sobrino,
a leading proponent of liberation theology for writings that were
"either erroneous or dangerous." Jon Sobrino was close to Archbishop
Oscar Romero and lived with the six Jesuits who were murdered by the
Salvadorean army together with their housekeeper and her daughter on
November 16, 1989. That fatal night he was in Thailand giving a short
course in Christology.
He wrote "Companions of Jesus: The Jesuit Martyrs of El Salvador" in
which each one speaks to us through something they wrote. At the end
of the book Sobrino speaks of the role of the university and of his
personal experience working there:
"To serve in the Third World is to give, but it is also to become
incarnate in true humanity today; it is to recover the dignity of
simply being a human person; it is to make reparation for the
centuries-long sins of oppression and to experience pardon; it is to
receive encouragement, hope, and grace.
"To serve in the Third World is to give, but it is also to receive,
and to receive in a different order from what is given and normally
superior to what is given. It is to receive humanity and, for
believers, to receive faith."
My first reaction to the Pope and the Vatican was to be angry,
disgusted. While clearing accumulated magazines, I found some
excerpts from "A letter to a Young Activist During Troubled Times":
"My friends, do not lose heart. We were made for these times. ...
Ours is a time of almost daily astonishment and often righteous rage
over the latest degradations of what matters most to civilized,
visionary people.
"Yet, I urge you, ask you, gentle you, to please not spend your
spirit dry by bewailing these difficult times. Especially do not lose
hope. Most particularly because, the fact is that we were made for
these times....
"What is needed for dramatic change is an accumulation of acts,
adding, adding to, adding more, continuing. We know that it does not
take "everyone on Earth" to bring justice and peace, but only a
small, determined group who will not give up during the first,
second, or hundredth gale."
Last week's reflection was my 200th! I always welcome your comments
and suggestions.
Cecily
