Introduction
1 Signs of the times â See-Judge-Act Method
2 The irruption of the poor and for them the manifestation of God
3 Transformations in some forms of life in the People of God
3.1 The presbyterial service
3.2 Transformations in religious or consecrated life
4 The popular reading of the Bible and the biblical animation of all pastoral work
5 Liturgical reform and popular religiosity
Final reflections
References
Introduction
Analyzing the conciliar reception in the churches of a continent is a task that requires a clear awareness of its limits. On the one hand, the work of Vatican II covers the most diverse themes of the Church’s life and theologies of a region; on the other hand, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean, awareness of the complexity and diversity of socio-cultural realities is growing. These are not only differences between countries but also between the multiple subcultures within them. The Pan-Amazonian Synod of 2019 also reveals that certain regions share ways of life and challenges beyond national political borders. There are more than seven and a half million square kilometers with nine countries (Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela, including French Guiana). The region records the presence of about three million indigenous peoples, representing about 390 different peoples and nationalities. However, even with all these plural and complex realities, it is possible to recognize common characteristics, even in reference to the life of the Church, which allows us to speak of a Latin American and Caribbean reality.
There was and still is today an almost unanimous consensus on the positive and decisive value of the Council for the life of the Church on this continent. This can be verified in the most diverse texts: episcopal â individual and collegiate â the numerous theological and pastoral productions of multiple groups, particularly groups of priests from various countries, religious congregations, etc. Vatican II, as a whole, soon became a symbol of renewal. Some analyses took on the image of a new Pentecost to characterize the importance of this event. Many of the most typical expressions of post-Council Latin American Catholicism, such as the basic ecclesial communities (CEBs), the popular reading of the Bible, the appreciation of popular religiosity, the insertion of religious life in poor environments, including liberation theology, are recognized as theological-pastoral realities indebted to and grateful for the conciliar event. These ecclesial realities, among others, are what allow us to affirm that the reception in these lands has been “selective, creative, and faithful” (GALILEA, 1987).
Another general aspect characterizes the reception: the same texts of Vatican II were not directly worked on to the same extent as was done in other languages and regions. The analysis of the conciliar reception still needs to be done where its link with Vatican II is not explicit. It is possible to speak of a mediated link, but by no means superficial. Two facts can be verified in much of the theological literature of our continent, contrary to research in other latitudes. Vatican II is usually considered together with the MedellĂn Conference as a single major event of celebration and reception. Probably the still very European nature of the Council, visible in its current themes and also in those absent, contributed to this dynamic. Thus, at the end of the 50th year, there was talk of a “double memory,” the Council and the MedellĂn Conference (LIBANIO, 2013, p. 164). G. Gutierrez characterized this aspect well.
I consider that, from Latin America and the Caribbean, it is legitimate to understand by conciliar event the set of three elements: John XXIII and his interventions in the two years preceding the opening of the Council, where he expressed intuitions that were not fully recognized in the Council. (…) Secondly, the conciliar documents elaborated after long discussions, including the climate in which they were discussed and approved. Finally, the MedellĂn Episcopal Conference, convened to consider the situation of the Church and Latin America in light of the Council, was the first and creative reception three years after the peak of Vatican II. (…) MedellĂn was, at the same time, a reading of Vatican II from Latin America and the Caribbean. (GUTIĂRREZ, 2013, p. 116-117)
With the beginning of the “Latin Americanization” of Vatican II (GALLI, 2018, p. 14), a new phenomenon arises. The birth of the consciousness of being a regional church with its own traits, with realities different from those of other continents, especially the European one, has its starting point precisely in the event of the Council and its immediate reception at the Second Latin American Episcopal Conference held in MedellĂn (1968). This event is characterized “in a certain sense,” as “the birth certificate of the Latin American and Caribbean Church” (BEOZZO, 2008).
Summary
Introduction
1 Signs of the times â See-Judge-Act Method
2 The irruption of the poor and for them the manifestation of God
3 Transformations in some forms of life in the People of God
3.1 The presbyterial service
3.2 Transformations in religious or consecrated life
4 The popular reading of the Bible and the biblical animation of all pastoral work
5 Liturgical reform and popular religiosity
Final reflections
References
Introduction
Analyzing the conciliar reception in the churches of a continent is a task that requires a clear awareness of its limits. On the one hand, the work of Vatican II covers the most diverse themes of the Church’s life and theologies of a region; on the other hand, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean, awareness of the complexity and diversity of socio-cultural realities is growing. These are not only differences between countries but also between the multiple subcultures within them. The Pan-Amazonian Synod of 2019 also reveals that certain regions share ways of life and challenges beyond national political borders. There are more than seven and a half million square kilometers with nine countries (Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela, including French Guiana). The region records the presence of about three million indigenous peoples, representing about 390 different peoples and nationalities. However, even with all these plural and complex realities, it is possible to recognize common characteristics, even in reference to the life of the Church, which allows us to speak of a Latin American and Caribbean reality.
There was and still is today an almost unanimous consensus on the positive and decisive value of the Council for the life of the Church on this continent. This can be verified in the most diverse texts: episcopal â individual and collegiate â the numerous theological and pastoral productions of multiple groups, particularly groups of priests from various countries, religious congregations, etc. Vatican II, as a whole, soon became a symbol of renewal. Some analyses took on the image of a new Pentecost to characterize the importance of this event. Many of the most typical expressions of post-Council Latin American Catholicism, such as the basic ecclesial communities (CEBs), the popular reading of the Bible, the appreciation of popular religiosity, the insertion of religious life in poor environments, including liberation theology, are recognized as theological-pastoral realities indebted to and grateful for the conciliar event. These ecclesial realities, among others, are what allow us to affirm that the reception in these lands has been “selective, creative, and faithful” (GALILEA, 1987).
Another general aspect characterizes the reception: the same texts of Vatican II were not directly worked on to the same extent as was done in other languages and regions. The analysis of the conciliar reception still needs to be done where its link with Vatican II is not explicit. It is possible to speak of a mediated link, but by no means superficial. Two facts can be verified in much of the theological literature of our continent, contrary to research in other latitudes. Vatican II is usually considered together with the MedellĂn Conference as a single major event of celebration and reception. Probably the still very European nature of the Council, visible in its current themes and also in those absent, contributed to this dynamic. Thus, at the end of the 50th year, there was talk of a “double memory,” the Council and the MedellĂn Conference (LIBANIO, 2013, p. 164). G. Gutierrez characterized this aspect well.
I consider that, from Latin America and the Caribbean, it is legitimate to understand by conciliar event the set of three elements: John XXIII and his interventions in the two years preceding the opening of the Council, where he expressed intuitions that were not fully recognized in the Council. (…) Secondly, the conciliar documents elaborated after long discussions, including the climate in which they were discussed and approved. Finally, the MedellĂn Episcopal Conference, convened to consider the situation of the Church and Latin America in light of the Council, was the first and creative reception three years after the peak of Vatican II. (…) MedellĂn was, at the same time, a reading of Vatican II from Latin America and the Caribbean. (GUTIĂRREZ, 2013, pp. 116-117)
With the beginning of the “Latin Americanization” of Vatican II (GALLI, 2018, p. 14), a new phenomenon arises. The birth of the consciousness of being a regional church with its own traits, with realities different from those of other continents, especially the European one, has its starting point precisely in the event of the Council and its immediate reception at the Second Latin American Episcopal Conference held in MedellĂn (1968). This event is characterized “in a certain sense,” as “the birth certificate of the Latin American and Caribbean Church” (BEOZZO, 2008).
The reception of the conciliar legacy, on the other hand, is largely linked to some subsequent major magisterial texts. An emblematic case is represented by the exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi (1975), decisive for the perspective of the General Conference held in Puebla (1979); this exhortation is the most relevant post-Council document in Francisco’s opinion (FRANCISCO, 2014a). The encyclical Populorum Progressio (1967), which presents a reflection not sufficiently discussed in Vatican II, had an important influence on the MedellĂn Conference; it was even classified as “something like the Gaudium et spes of the Third World” (GUTIĂRREZ, 2018, p. 86).
1 Signs of the times â See-Judge-Act Method
The methodological perspective used in magisterial language, in the programming of the Church’s pastoral action, and in theological elaboration in these decades reveals one of the main lines of reception of the Council on the continent. Chilean theologian Juan Noemi rightly characterized the new situation: “Before Vatican II, a theological exercise prevailed for which the spatial and temporal context constitutes an exteriority, an accident that is not considered in itself as determinant of theologizing” (NOEMI, 1996, p. 31). With this historical perspective and theological methodology, what happened at the 1968 Conference becomes more evident:
the most decisive thing in MedellĂn is not having put the issue of liberation on the table as such, but that for the first time explicitly and consciously, the situation of Latin America is considered, no longer as a dispensable accident, but as the background against which theological exercise is confronted. (…) It encourages a localized theological work responsible for the concrete reality and not beyond it. (NOEMI, 1996, p. 46)
In this perspective, the success of a discovery by VĂctor Codina is perceived: Gaudium et spes is “the text that had the greatest impact in Latin America for its invitation to listen to and discern the signs of the times” (CODINA, 2013, p. 84). As is well known, Vatican II took an initial step and was much debated during the drafting of the pastoral Constitution. Among the novelties proposed by the last version of the so-called Schema XIII in the fourth session of the Council was the hermeneutical structure of the document which, as C. Theobald states, “was founded on the inductive method ‘see-judge-act’ of Catholic Action, introduced as a structuring scheme in the spring of 1965” (THEOBALD, 2015, p. 228). From that moment on, the interpretation of the signs of the times, a biblical and pastoral expression symbolizing this method, was acquired as a theological principle from which the entire future Constitution is organized. Moreover, this inductive methodology, with a dialectically articulated trilogy, created by Joseph Cardijn, founder of the Young Christian Workers (JOC), was already used before the Council in multiple instances of church life in Latin America and the Caribbean (BRIGHENTI, 2015, pp. 608-615).
It is possible to verify in international dialogues and bibliography that the constitution Gaudium et spes and, in particular, this methodology, were indeed assumed on various continents, albeit in a differentiated manner (SANDER, 2005, pp. 835-859). Thus, liberation theologies in their different forms â North American, South American, Asian, and African â had, in this way of proceeding, a “common pattern,” a “guiding thread,” even though their diversity of gender, economic origin, national and ethnic, cultural and/or religious, should not be underestimated (PHAN, 2000, p. 62).
But it must be recognized that, from this methodological perspective, Latin America followed a peculiar path in the post-Council period: this approach had a greater repercussion and development on it than in other regions. The MedellĂn Conference (1968) creatively adopted the theological reflection method of the pastoral Constitution. Its main characteristic is that, unlike the Council, the method not only influenced a document but the “work mechanics,” as it was called, of the entire Conference, which was shaped by the elaborated documents. Thanks to MedellĂn, moreover, the impact of the method in shaping the Latin American ecclesial identity in the following years is undeniable. As Brighenti stated, it is at the basis of popular ecclesial practices that resulted in the option for the poor, the formation of basic ecclesial communities, the practice of popular Bible reading, the development of social pastoral care, civic militancy, and liberation theology itself (BRIGHENTI, 2015, p. 608). All these ecclesial expressions, with their riches and limitations, represent a certain qualitative theological-pastoral novelty in the history of the Church and, to a large extent, identify the journey and peculiar Latin American face by their “originality.” In this sense, the declaration of JosĂ© Legorreta, which many authors would share, is significant: “the see-judge-act method became emblematic of the new way of being church and doing theology in Latin America” (LEGORRETA, 2015, p. 255).
One fact particularly marked the development after MedellĂn: the questioning of the see-judge-act method in the various General Conferences of the Latin American Episcopate or on the occasion of them. Admitted without discussion at the time of MedellĂn (1968), the method has suffered repeated attacks in subsequent conferences, up to Aparecida (2007), without exception. In particular, the Santo Domingo Conference (1992), as it represents the most relevant case of this setback. That this theological, inductive, and historical way of proceeding, which has particularly characterized the way of being and doing Church on this continent, has found important oppositions, particularly in the Roman center of the Church, is yet another sign of its importance and how much was at stake in it.
2 The irruption of the poor and in them the manifestation of God
Due to its richness and complexity, it is not easy to characterize in a few words the core of the ecclesial process and the theological originality of these decades on the continent generated from MedellĂn. Several authors have suggested a formulation in these terms: the novelty lies in the irruption of the poor and in them the manifestation of God (SOBRINO, 2016, p. 208).
What was an embryonic conviction in the 1960s, in 50 years, ended up inspiring an entire way of understanding the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean and activating the development of the first properly contextual theology, non-European: liberation theology. The poor will continue to be a determining theme on the continent, as a “theological place” through which the Gospel is sought to be understood[1]. The expression “close to the poor, close to God” condenses a key and decisive criterion of evangelical discernment (GUTIĂRREZ, 2010).
By adopting the Gaudium et spes method of observing history to examine in it the presence and will of God, Latin Americans discovered that, in addition to what the Council had warned (PLANELLAS, 2014), the sign of the times corresponding to their context constituted the great transformations that affected all aspects of people’s lives, particularly the lives of the poorest and most oppressed, their emergence as historical subjects, and the alarm about the spiral of violence. In the second half of the 20th century, there was a real irruption of the poor in history, either as new subjects capable of organizing and fighting in the social and political field, or as masses whose misery was considered a structural injustice and not a mere fatality.
The post-Council Latin American Episcopal Magisterium and liberation theology, intertwined at the beginning, reflected on this reality in an original way. In MedellĂn (1968), in particular, it is rudimentarily but strongly affirmed, the strict theological origin of what the Puebla Conference (1979) will later call the “option for the poor” or “preferential option for the poor” (DPb nn. 733-735, 1134-1165). âThe phrase preferential option is new, the content is very old, just open the Bible to find itâ (GUTIERREZ, 2010, p. 14).
The poverty to which the Latin American Church of the 1960s and 70s alluded was primarily that of peasants in the rural environment, of peasant migrants in large cities, and industrial workers. In any case, it was recognized in socioeconomically poor people, that is, Latin Americans lacking food, health, housing, education; exploited people or unemployed multitudes. As several countries lost their democracies and had to endure military dictatorships, Latin American churches would see new types of poor in the victims of human rights violations (persecuted, tortured, and disappeared) and their relatives who demanded justice. Added to the above deficiencies were insecurity, lack of freedom, humiliation, and homelessness (DPb nn. 49, 314, 347).
In those years, Latin America was also marked by the Cold War scenario waged between the great powers of the United States and the Soviet Union. Latin American countries, belonging to the so-called Third World, aligned themselves or were forced to do so â with capitalism or Marxism. The Cuban Revolution (1959) was a milestone that influenced the entire decade of the 1960s until the democratic access to power of President Salvador Allende in Chile (1970) offered another possible paradigm of socialism. The military coup that overthrew Allende included the country in the long list of Latin American nations that in those years had military dictatorships (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay). The Pinochet dictatorship in Chile (1973-1990) was a pioneer in testing neoliberalism which, later, in the 1990s, dominated part of the continent. The fall of the Berlin Wall (1989), a kind of triumph of Western capitalist society, had a strong impact on leftist social and political movements in Latin America, as well as on liberation theology.
In an attempt to understand poverty and its causes, in the 1960s, liberation theologians made their own way applied to the social sciences, which consisted of abandoning the “development theory” â which understood that underdeveloped countries would naturally follow the course of developed countries â and adopting “dependency theories,” which postulated the need to “liberate” poor countries from the rich, as the link between them was precisely the factor that created the wealth of some and the poverty of others (OLIVEROS, 1977, pp. 38-46; GUTIĂRREZ, 1990, pp. 127-137). It is true that, “despite the limits,” this “theory qualitatively advanced” the study of the continent’s social reality, GutiĂ©rrez recalls. “Perhaps its main contribution was to make evident the need for a structural analysis, that is, not limiting itself to a simple description of the situation” (GUTIĂRREZ, 2018, p. 88).
The concept of the poor only acquired greater theological density when MedellĂn, Puebla, and liberation theology distinguished, thanks to the Scriptures, between “material” poverty â socioeconomic poverty â and “spiritual” poverty â the commitment to solidarity with the poor. GutiĂ©rrez used the expression: “with the poor against poverty.” Thus, the poor came to be considered as a theological theme, either because they have an epistemological privilege to understand the Gospel, or because their sapiential theological reflection is valued. Magisterial and theological reflection valued the agonizing struggle of the poor simply for their living, and for their ability to evangelize and reveal God as the God of the poor.
In the successive decades, the persistence of the poverty phenomenon and the growing complexity of its reality gave rise, on the one hand, to a large number of concepts and terminologies that seek to understand and explain this world and, on the other hand, strategies and proposals for solutions to its structural problems. Poverty is increasingly being described in various ways.
Regarding the updating of the theological view on the problem, the central argument lies in acquiring a better understanding of the complexity of poverty. Of particular importance was the development of increased awareness of racial issues, the “public appearance” of aboriginal cultures, and the “emergence” of women’s specific issues. On the other hand, a glimpse of ecology emerged through the eyes of the poor (BOFF, 2011). The continental Magisterium, especially in the General Conferences following MedellĂn and Puebla, namely Santo Domingo (1992) and Aparecida (2007), ratified the option for the poor and highlighted its Christological nature (DSD nn. 2033-2035; 2130; DAp nn. 128, 397-399). If Puebla asked to discover in the faces of various types of poor the face of Christ (DPb nn. 31-39), Santo Domingo expanded these faces (DSD n. 178) and Aparecida simply multiplied them (DAp n. 65).
Francis, the first Latin American pope in history, today represents the choice of the poor at the highest level of the Church: the See of Rome. His phrase “how I wish for a poor Church, for the poor,” at the beginning of his pontificate, characterizes his program of governance expressed in his Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium. It has rightly been said that this text, without being a letter belonging to the social doctrine of the Church â an important theme for its interpretation â is the most elaborate and detailed document on the theme of the Church and the poor in the entire history of the Magisterium of the Bishop of Rome.
3 Transformations in some forms of life in the People of God
It is dangerous to romantically idealize the Latin American Church, warned V. Codina (CODINA, 1990, p. 107). Many who come to the continent for the first time think that in every parish they will find base communities, that in every diocese there are bishops like Monsignor Romero, that in every Church there are exemplary laymen and laywomen who proclaim the word even to martyrdom, that in every religious community people are embedded among the poor and are truly prophetic. The reality is very different and sometimes even disappointing. On the contrary, the vast majority of Christians live in traditional ecclesial structures, even pre-Council ones. Machismo, in general, and clericalism, in particular, strongly permeate the mentalities and practices of countless pastoral agents, bishops, and priests. Unrenewed parish structures are no exception. Diocesan bodies, such as priestly councils or pastoral councils, have a more formal than operational existence. The deficit in synodal processes at all levels is a very entrenched and widespread characteristic. These are all personal life forms and institutional practices that are difficult to transform. In particular, gender inequities, so visible in ecclesial structures, find significant support in the markedly patriarchal cultural customs of our countries, which manifest, without exception, in all social classes and in the most diverse areas: family, politics, business, unions, universities, etc. Thus, when we speak of new ecclesiological forms, such as the CEBs, or the option for the poor, it refers to minority but significant realities.
A general evaluation of the reception of the Council from an ecclesiological point of view could highlight, among the main relevant aspects, the episcopal collegiality materialized in CELAM (FELICIANI, 1974; ESCALANTE, 2002), the emergence and development of the same basic ecclesial communities (MARINS, 2018), also the important significance that the theological concept of the People of God assumed by Lumen Gentium as an architectural category of the renewed vision of the Church (GALLI, 2015, p. 413). Another point of view is equally interesting to review: the profound transformations experienced by the various members and vocations in the People of God; theoretical transformations and also in their concrete ways of life. Some aspects of two of them are briefly highlighted: priests and religious or consecrated life.
3.1 The Presbyterial Service
Some of the fundamental ideas of the decree Presbyterorum ordinis, which sought to promote a renewal of the image of the priesthood existing before Vatican II, have been recently defined. They represent a step in a certain direction: a) from the perspective of consecration to the perspective of ecclesial mission. Trent had started from a sacramental perspective, from the Eucharist to ordination; Vatican II places the doctrine in a broader context, as a modality of fulfilling the ecclesial mission; b) from the singularity of the cultic ministry to the integration of prophetic and pastoral ministries; c) from an individualistic priestly vision to a communal priestly vision, in which this ministry is also characterized as participation in the episcopal ministry. The choice of the presbyterial vocabulary over the priestly one, due to its greater proximity to the language of the New Testament and highlighting its specificity, cannot be underestimated; d) from the priest alter Christus and mediator â deliberately excluded expressions â to the priest who acts in the person or in the name of Christ; e) from holiness as nourishment for the ministry to the ministry as an element of the same holiness with a unifying category of all aspects of ministry and priestly life, pastoral charity (CASTELLUCCI, 2017, pp. 317-326). In this sense, it seems correct to evaluate that the conciliar teaching expressed in Presbyterorum ordinis represents “a substantial renewal and deepening of the theology of presbyteral service,” not a mere “inconsistent amalgam of distinct conceptions,” but a “concise and conclusive vision of this ministry (FUCHS, 2005, p. 543). Therefore, without ignoring the limitations, true historical-dogmatic development and progress must be recognized in this conciliar issue. The history of reception in this field is not limited to this key document but is closely linked to the overall vision of Lumen Gentium, the important perspectives opened by Gaudium et spes, particularly in the reading of the signs of the times and in its reflections on the relationship between faith and history and, not least, the liturgical renewal â Sacrosanctum Concilium â which quickly changed the concrete life of priests in practices as important as they are everyday. But as the analysis of the various historical processes on the continent shows, the influence of the Council should not be overestimated; it is a decisive element, but alongside others no less relevant that allow us to understand what happened in those decades.
It can be recognized that this is, in fact, one of the weak areas of conciliar renewal on the continent. Certain aspects of MedellĂn, contrary to the new tones of Presbyterorum ordinis, seem an initial symptom of this. This is indicated, for example, in the vocabulary used, in the same title “Priests,” in the constitution of a ministry independent of a concrete community, with a descending scheme. F. Taborda’s judgment is significant: despite the perspective of the option for the poor, typical of all MedellĂn texts, “the theology of the presbyterate described” in the respective document is disappointing (TABORDA, 2017, p. 211). The question here is whether, in light of the process experienced in these decades, we are facing a more global phenomenon in this area that is not specific to Latin American Catholicism.
The decree Optatam totius, in turn, received a favorable reception similar to other conciliar documents. It is practically impossible to evaluate the processes experienced in these decades in seminaries for the formation of candidates for the presbyterate given the diversity of countries and the complexity of the issues. Although it is true that they maintain a relatively uniform structure based on the norms and guidelines of the Holy See. Processes of change cannot be denied, among which it is possible to highlight a greater relevance given to human formation, with the growing contribution of psychology to pastoral formation. It is true that, even today, many of the positive aspects already recognized by the MedellĂn document could be endorsed:
There is greater integration in the team of formators; updating this through courses and reflection meetings; effort for a more personal formation of seminarians within a family environment; integration of the seminary in the ecclesial and human community; more contact of the bishop and parish priests with the seminary; greater openness to the realities of today’s world and family; renewal of pedagogical methods; application of a healthy psychology in the discernment and guidance of candidates. (DMed n.13, 6)
Some negative aspects, already indicated at the time of MedellĂn, seem to retain all their relevance, even in a new cultural context, such as the existence of âinsufficiently prepared formatorsâ or the âfailures in training towards full human maturityâ (DMed n.13, 5). The participation of laypeople in formation is still limited. A central point seems not to have been achieved: despite the transformations carried out, the clerical mentality, expressed in forms of leadership and institutional practices, has not shown substantial improvement. This calls into question the ecclesiology that, readily, not in the declaration of intentions, underpins the formation projects. The question arises to what extent the very structure of the seminaries contributes to the immobility in this very important aspect for the realization of an ecclesiology of the People of God. The profound challenges posed by the so-called postmodern culture, highlighted by Aparecida (DAp n.318), cannot be ignored. In any case, the limitations seen in the formation structures, to a large extent, do not seem to be a specifically Latin American characteristic of conciliar reception, but a common issue in other geographical regions of the Church.
3.2 Transformations in religious or consecrated life
The rediscovery of their founders and their initial charisms, stimulated by the conciliar decree Perfectae caritatis, on the one hand, and the decline of new vocations and numerous departures, on the other, have marked the life of the most diverse congregations and religious institutes in these decades as a global trend. The issues of renewal and identity represent one of the most relevant challenges and tasks of the post-Council in reference to consecrated life. A phrase from MedellĂn aptly summarizes the climate of the time: “In these times of review, many are asking what is the position of the religious in the Church and what is their special vocation within the People of God” (DMed n.12,2). As with the rest of the vocations in the Church, the reconfiguration of the identity of consecrated life has been predominantly marked by responsibilities in the face of historical processes: “it must be incorporated into the real world and today with greater boldness than in other timesâ (DMed n.12,2). The general call of Gaudium et spes had a peculiar impact on this way of life: âwe are witnessing the birth of a new humanism, in which the human being is defined primarily by their responsibility towards their brothers and sisters and by historyâ (GS n.55).
In this more general context lies what is perhaps the main novelty or originality of these decades in the forms of consecrated life, already established by Puebla (1979): the change of social place, that is, communities embedded in popular environments. âSmall communities arise, usually born from the desire to be inserted in modest neighborhoods or rural areas, or from a particular evangelizing missionâ (DPb n.731). It is a new form or ecclesial figure in line with the new awareness of poverty: “it has shed clearer light on its relationship with the poverty of the marginalized, which no longer implies just internal detachment and community austerity, but also solidarity, sharing, and â in some cases â living with the poorâ (DPb n.734) (MESTERS, 1997). This process included the review of traditional works and was lived with many tensions (BARROS, 2018). It is also the result of the rediscovery of the original vocation of the founders, who almost always responded to a specific need of the poor and marginalized. In this sense, Ronaldo Muñoz declared in 1987: âwe are living in a time of refoundation of all religious congregationsâ (MUĂOZ, 2002, p. 76). This is a very significant step, particularly for women’s congregations. On the other hand, the important institutional inertia typical of a âconservation pastoralâ (DMed n.6,19) cannot be ignored. In short, in light of a complex but substantially positive conciliar reception, a variety of issues and challenges are now glimpsed to give these ecclesial charisms an appropriate form in a deeply transformed cultural situation (VITĂRIO, 2017).
4 The popular reading of the Bible and the biblical animation of all pastoral work
The various initiatives around the Word of God developed over the decades in Latin America and the Caribbean explicitly recognize themselves as indebted to the renewal produced by the biblical movement of the 20th century and, particularly, by the Constitution Dei Verbum. The 1993 document, âThe Interpretation of the Bible in the Church,â by the Pontifical Biblical Commission, also had important effects. If the conciliar Constitution triggered the biblical movement on the continent, this text confirmed several of the intuitions of the Latin American biblical journey: interdisciplinarity in the interpretation of the Bible, the value of the reader’s context, liberationist and feminist readings, criticisms of fundamentalist reading, the appreciation of lectio divina, etc. (SALAZAR, 2009, pp. 18, 23). There is no doubt, too, that the use of the vernacular language in liturgical celebrations favored the processes of appropriation of the Bible by the People of God.
Among all the achievements of these decades, one deserves to be particularly highlighted.
The legacy of the Council found its most significant and creative expression in the popular reading of the Bible, a broad communal appropriation of the Word of God that has nourished the journey of base ecclesial communities and social ministries over these years, with great prominence of laypeople, and especially women. (BEOZZO, 2012, p. 442)
This statement by J. O. Beozzo would find significant consensus among many authors. In the words of one of its main proponents, Paul Richard:
The biblical movement in Latin America consists precisely in returning the Bible to the People of God: putting the Bible in their hands, their hearts, and their minds. The People of God, as the authentic “owner” of the Bible and interpreter of it, recovers their divine right to read and interpret the Holy Scriptures. (RICHARD, 2007, p. 11)
At their service are biblical science and the ecclesial magisterium. In the opinion of the main exponent of this initiative, Carlos Mesters, the novelties of this experience, despite the differences in their achievements in countries and regions, lie in the goal, the theme of interpretation, and the social place. The goal is not to seek information about the past but to illuminate the present with the light of God’s presence with us and to interpret life with the help of the Bible. The subject is not the specialist; interpreting the scriptures is a community activity in which everyone participates, including the exegete who plays a special role in it. If the place of the poor is also central here, the contribution of indigenous peoples and, in particular, women is a growing and notable fact. The social place where interpretation is done is from the poor and marginalized. This changes the way of looking, mainly due to their critical social awareness (MESTERS, 1991, p. 153). It is an ecumenical reading by nature, not because of its theoretical debates, but because of the commitment of all believers to the defense of threatened life and the search for liberation.
In particular, the use of the see-judge-act method helped develop what its authors describe as a “new vision of revelation: God speaks todayâ (MESTERS, 2015, p. 534). The Bible is considered “the second book of God that allows us to discern in the Book of Life where God is, how God is, and what God’s Word is for us.” In this sense, it is stated,
The Bible reveals the Word of God to us, but it also reveals when and where God reveals Himself in our reality. (âŠ) We must listen to the Word of God with one eye on the Bible and the other on the reality in which we live. By discovering the priority of the Book of Life as the first Book of God, we can now move from the text of the Bible to the text of Life. In its pastoral reading, they always use the distinction between the Book of Life and the Book of the Bible; giving priority to the Book of Life as the first Book of God. (RICHARD, 2010, p. 249)
As is clearly observed, the so-called popular reading of the Bible is closely linked to other typical post-Council Latin American experiences: the option for the poor, base communities, and the inductive methodology inherited from specialized Catholic Action.
Another noteworthy aspect regarding the Word of God in the life of the Church is the paradigm shift produced in biblical pastoral care, that is, a new way of conceiving the biblical dimension of the pastoral action of the churches on the continent: from a specialized pastoral care alongside others (educational pastoral care, health pastoral care, etc.) to a biblical animation of all pastoral work. In this sense, and paraphrasing the conciliar expression about the Bible “as the soul of sacred theology” (DV n.24), the Scriptures have been affirmed as the “soul of pastoral work.” The significant expression, “biblical animation of all pastoral work,” was adopted in the Latin American magisterium (DAp n.248) and, later, in the post-synodal exhortation of Benedict XVI, Verbum Domini (2010) (ULLOA, 2015, p. 298).
It is worth highlighting the various initiatives developed by CELAM, for example, the creation of a specialized institute, Cebitepal, dedicated especially to the formation of pastoral workers and the dissemination of biblical pastoral care. Also, the existence of specialized biblical journals and some associations of biblical scholars from various countries (Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, etc.).
The importance of the various translations cannot be underestimated, as they were unprecedented in the history of the Church on the continent. These include the so-called Latin American Bible and an ongoing editorial project, the Bible of America. Besides what happened in the liturgical field â the introduction of the vernacular language â interconfessional works with the United Bible Societies also stand out. The biblical field has been one of the privileged spaces for joint ecumenical initiatives.
In summary, the analysis by the Chilean biblical scholar P. Uribe seems correct. The reception of the biblical movement, in general, and the teachings of the conciliar constitution Dei Verbum have been verified more in practical and pastoral experiences than in theoretical works.
It is not a reception that does not adhere in an orthodox manner to the sensus fidei, but rather its adherence is realized in praxis and from this praxis it can be theoretically reflected, elaborating certain levels of appropriation of the teachings contained in the Constitution. (ULLOA, 2015, p. 298)
5 Liturgical reform and popular religiosity
The liturgical reform of the Council was probably the most immediate and impactful change in the concrete life of countless ecclesial communities throughout the continent. In particular, the use of the vernacular language made Vatican II, its pastoral intentions, and its process of aggiornamento visible without breaking with previous tradition. In this sense, the central point of the liturgical reform, that is, the active and fruitful participation of the faithful, received an important boost. Although there were abuses due to the lack of observance of liturgical rules, on the one hand, or resistance to renewal, on the other hand, both aspects found in Puebla (DPb 1n.01, 903), it seems that, historically, they are not decisive notes to characterize the conciliar reception of the liturgical reform on the continent. The motu proprio Summorum pontificum (2007), by Benedict XVI, which liberalized the use of the Roman liturgy preceding the conciliar reform and had significant effects in strengthening the existing space of liturgical traditionalism by theologically legitimizing pre-conciliar ecclesial and liturgical positions, does not seem to have had a significant impact on the churches in Latin America and the Caribbean, unlike the English-speaking countries (FAGGIOLI, 2018, p. 28).
Significant weaknesses in the conciliar reception can be noted, on the one hand, in a process of inculturation only recently initiated, and on the other, in a tenuous or distant relationship between the liturgical reform and popular religiosity, key in the faith experience of millions of people and in the life of the churches on the continent; moreover, it is a matter of little relevance in the same Sacrosanctum Concilium. On the first aspect, the Santo Domingo Conference states:
The process of healthy inculturation of the liturgy has not yet been addressed; this makes the celebrations still, for many, even something ritualistic and private that does not make them aware of the transformative presence of Christ and His Spirit, nor does it translate into a solidary commitment to the transformation of the world. (DSD n.43)
The authoritative opinion of Roberto Russo is clear on this. It seems that the determination with which the dialogue between the Roman liturgy and the various cultures decreased, argues the Uruguayan liturgist. âThe problem of language was resolved, and substantially well. But the issue of language, which is more difficult and still needs to be realized, remains pending, in the texts, in the symbols, and in the musicâ (RUSSO, 2013, p. 245).
On the link with popular piety or popular Catholicism, a pastoral proposal from Puebla illuminates the problem well:
To foster the mutual fertilization between the Liturgy and popular piety that channels with lucidity and prudence the desires for prayer and charismatic vitality that are evident in our countries today. On the other hand, the religion of the people, with its great symbolic and expressive richness, can provide the liturgy with a creative dynamism. This, properly discerned, can serve to increasingly and better incorporate the universal prayer of the Church into our culture. (DPb n.465) (SANCHEZ ESPINOSA, 2013)
The theme of popular piety, “a privileged expression of the inculturation of the Catholic faith” (DSD n.36), has been present at all the Conferences, from MedellĂn â prominently in Puebla (DPb n.444-469) â to Aparecida. In the latter, with two new expressions â a true “mysticism of the popular” or “popular spirituality” (DAp nn. 262, 263) â it has definitively acquired a very prominent place. The importance of shrines, pilgrimages, festivals, singing, dress, dances, etc., is highlighted (BIANCHI, 2009). A closer and not confused link between the liturgy and popular piety seems to be a pending task, understandable in the context of the deficiency pointed out about the inculturation of the Roman rite. This deficiency is very important when you take into account, in particular, the significance of Marian piety, expressed particularly in the importance of Marian shrines on the continent (Guadalupe, Aparecida, LujĂĄn, etc.) that annually gather millions of believers.
The weakness of academic proposals for liturgical theology in faculties and seminaries for the formation of priests, and in general, the small number of theologians and pastoral agents trained in this discipline gives cause for reflection. Moreover, the explicit recognition in Puebla that liturgical pastoral care was not given “the priority it deserves within overall pastoral care” (DPb n.901) seems to retain all its relevance. Both phenomena indicate that liturgical renewal, despite its objective importance, represents a neglected area of conciliar reception.
A long-standing and very significant challenge in some regions of the continent is the lack of Sunday Eucharistic celebration. Although the problem is clearly raised in Aparecida, it does not seem that a satisfactory response has been formulated there (ALMEIDA, 2018). The existence of “thousands of communities with their millions of members who do not have the opportunity to participate in the Sunday Eucharist” is recognized; they are encouraged to participate in the celebrations of the Word and “to pray for priestly vocations” (DAp n.253). At this point, the Amazon Synod of October 2019 would indicate a way forward.
In short, if the liturgical reform is valued as a positive and very significant renewal, the limitations seen in the life of the churches in this region allow us to understand R. Russo’s severe judgment: “in the Latin American continent, the great lines that go beyond the pure reform of the rites or the texts desired by Sacrosanctum Concilium have not been developed and have not been fully accepted” (RUSSO, 2013, p. 245). The inspiring principles of the liturgical reform have not fully developed their potential.
6 Final Reflections
An evaluation of the conciliar reception must naturally include many other relevant aspects. The theme of catechesis, for example, has represented a very dynamic and creative pastoral area, with a conciliar spirit and great diffusion and impact on Christian communities. For the most part, this theme was absent from the Council, but it is a decisive issue, already since MedellĂn, which has acquired, not only in Latin America, vigorous development in the post-Council dynamism. The educational field, in turn, also followed its own path, even differentiating itself from the general proposal expressed in the Declaration Gravissimum educationis of Vatican II. MedellĂn’s concept of liberating education shows a reception with a diversified emphasis. The development of ecumenical dialogue has, above all, common initiatives in the face of human rights problems. The religious landscape of the continent has undergone considerable transformation in these decades with the loss of the previous true or supposed Catholic hegemony. Theological developments have been relevant, especially linked to historical and cultural contexts. The mere statement of some of its various currents reveals the richness of the process that has taken place: liberation theologies, Latin American feminist theologies, indigenous or Amerindian theology, and Afro-American theologies, theology of the people, etc.
Victor Codina offers a formulation that well synthesizes the processes experienced in these decades:
In the case of Latin America and the Caribbean, the reception of Vatican II was not a mere vital assimilation, much less a simple application of Vatican II to Latin America: it has been an original recreation, a creative fidelity, a rereading of the Council from a continent at once Christian and marked by poverty and injustice. This reception advanced conciliar doctrine, developed its implicit intuitions, giving the conciliar aggiornamento a very concrete geographical and historical translation. For this reason, this reception, although made in full communion with the universal Church, has often been conflictive for sectors of civil society and also of the Church, unable to understand the dynamism and novelty of the Spirit. It has been a reception of martyrdom in the strong sense of the word: faithfully received by witnesses of the gospel who, in many cases, lived their fidelity to the Lord to the shedding of blood. This is why the reception of Vatican II by the Latin American continent deserves respect: we must take off our shoes, we are on holy ground. No one could imagine the impulses of life that arose. It was a moment of grace, a kairĂłs, a true Pentecost, just like Vatican II. (CODINA, 2013, p. 82)
Carlos Schickendantz. Centro Manuel LarraĂn (Universidade Alberto Hurtado), Santiago, Chile. Original text in Spanish. Posted in December 2020.
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[1] Thanks to J. Costadoat for writing the ideas in this point.