Liberation Theology in Times of Political and Ecclesial Change

This article examines how Latin American liberation theology has changed in the past decade. It begins with a major challenge posed to liberation theology by Clodovis Boff, an important author on methodology in liberation theology. The article then examines how liberation theologians at the time and since have responded to the challenge of making liberation theology more theological. They have done this against a backdrop of two events that have had a positive impact on liberation theology’s standing. The first negative event is the worsening political and economic situation that has highlighted liberation theology’s commitment to the poor. The second positive occurrence was the election of Pope Francis, whose language is full of the terminology used by liberation theologians. The effect of these developments is followed through a brief study of three major Latin American theological congresses.

Keywords: Latin American Liberation Theology; Clodovis Boff; Pope Francis; Brazil; Politics and Theology