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Liberation Theology and Catholic Social Teaching

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Michael Kirwan SJ
Michael Kirwan SJ*
Affiliation:
Heythrop College, University of London, Kensington Square, London, W8 5HQ
*
Email: m.kirwan@heythrop.ac.uk
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Abstract

This article argues for a broad compatibility between the Theology of Liberation and Catholic Social Thought. It can be argued that both of these discourses have been eclipsed in the post-conciliar period by the attention given to sexual ethics rather than the ‘social question’. Two possibilities are put forward as to how these discourses may re-connect with contemporary political and economic debates. Firstly, the notions of the ‘State of Exception’ and the homo sacer (advanced by Giorgio Agamben) have opened up new space for theological reflection centred upon the victim. Secondly, the search for a post-Rawlsian account of global justice, such as we find in the work of Amartya Sen, offers a possible version of a political ‘project’, to which both Liberation Theology and Catholic Social Thought can contribute.

Keywords

Theology of LiberationGiorgio AgambenState of ExceptionAmartya Senglobal justice
Type
Original Articles
Information
New Blackfriars , Volume 93 , Issue 1044 , March 2012 , pp. 246 - 258
Copyright
Copyright © 2012 The Author. New Blackfriars © 2012 The Dominican Council. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2011, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK, and 350 Main Street, Malden MA 02148, USA

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