Pope Francis and the Theology of the People

by Rafael Luciani

Overview

“This is the best book I have seen so far on Francis: careful, balanced, and informative.”—Harvey Cox, Harvard Divinity School “It is always good to have in hand a book that helps us learn the origins of a body of thought, and which at the same time, impels us toward the transformation of the fu­ture of which we are real agents. I think Rafael Luciani’s book meets both of these conditions: we have here a contribution which helps clarify a theological and pastoral reflection that has grown up under the skies of Argentina, but which from the outset is open to the cultural newness furnished to us by our Latin America.” —Omar Cesar Albado, Catholic University of Argentina Pope Francis has offered a bold challenge to an “economy that kills,” identifying in particu­lar a form of globalization that turns people into disposable consumers and increases the widening gap between the rich and poor. In do­ing so, he has drawn not only from the social teaching of the Latin American Church, but also in a particular way from a school of the­ology that arose in Argentina called “Theology of the People.” A type of liberation theology, it emphasizes respect for the culture and popular religious expressions of the poor.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608337170
Publisher:	Orbis
Publication date:	10/12/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	532 KB

About the Author

Rafael Luciani is a lay theologian from Caracas, Venezuela. Currently, he is Professor Extraordinarius in the Ecclesiastical Faculty, Boston College School of Theology and Ministry

Table of Contents

Foreword Omar César Albado ix

Introduction: The Primacy of the Christian xiii

A theological-pastoral option xiii

Gospel hermeneutics of cultures xvi

A mindset to be overcome xix

A primacy to be recognized xx

1 Theology and the People: Sensus Populi 1

In the context of a theology of the people of God 1

Reading Medellín from the perspective of the people 6

Option for the poor, option for poor peoples 9

Sensus populi and sociocultural location 16

Encountering the soul of a people 21

What is at stake in cultural globalization? 28

Recovering cultural rights 31

2 Responding to the New Signs of the Times 37

The loss of humanizing bonds and reference points 37

An economic system that kills 43

By way of the poor 47

A hermeneutic of social processes and movements 55

3 Toward a Liberating Pastoral Ministry of Peoples and Their Cultures 63

Turning toward persons and fostering their liberation 63

A Latin American option: From Medellín to San Miguel 66

From the synods of bishops to Evangelii Nuntiandi 73

The path of Puebla and Bergoglio's contribution 77

New developments at Aparecida 85

The new bishop of Rome: "Living our human life to the fullest" 89

Transforming cultures "from within" 96

4 Pastoral Geopolitics of Peoples and Their Cultures 103

Sources of a vision 103

Old and new paradigms 108

A geopolitics at the service of peoples and their cultures 115

Unleashing processes and dynamics 121

Forming citizens within a people 125

5 From Ecclesial Culture to Personal Encounter with Jesus 130

Francis and the spirit of Vatican II 130

A Change of ecclesial model 133

Ecclesial culture and the pathology of power 140

Conclusion: A Humanity in the Manner of Jesus, as Surpassing Paradigm 151

Abbreviations 157

Notes 159

Index 193