liberationist approach

• Liberation theologians were inspired by the actions of Jesus in the New Testament
• Liberationist approaches start by analysing the situation of the poor + oppressed, and then use the gospel to challenge the causes of their poverty + oppression
• for liberation theologians, one role of the Church was to educate + recognise the difference between their own lives + real justice as described in the gospel + to help them finds ways to challenge the forces that oppress them
• Catholicism on liberation theology:

  • previous popes have criticised it - John Paul II, refuted its core beliefs: to portray Christ as “a political figure, a revolutionary,” the pope said in 1979, violates Catholic catechism
  • Pope Francis was more liberal on it - consider his Latin American background (where liberation theology originated)
  • he stated that Christians + Marxists have common missions in 2024 (liberation theology follows some Marxist ideals)