Volume 1, 2024

EN:

This text delves into the intersection of feminist theology and ecclesiological transformation, using Sisters in Solidarity (SIS) as a case study. It explores how feminist perspectives challenge gendered hierarchies within religious institutions, focusing on birthing change and fostering feminist solidarity. The narrative unfolds with a critical analysis of the Church’s historical and contemporary treatment of women, especially in light of clergy sexual abuse scandals. It discusses the emergence of SIS as a proactive force, advocating for justice, healing and empowerment for marginalised individuals within the Church. The text also delves into theological underpinnings, emphasising the embodiment of the divine in female experiences and the importance of solidarity as a catalyst for transformative actions. Ultimately, it calls for a reimagining of ecclesiastical structures towards inclusivity, equality and a deeper engagement with feminist principles for a more just and compassionate Church.

ES:

Este trabajo se está elaborando como proceso personal y ministerial desde una perspectiva de mujer laica, creyente, inspirada en las propias introspecciones identitarias, y la espiritualidad es una característica de identificación fundamental en esa búsqueda. El tema ha sido una responsabilidad adquirida como líder, guía y acompañante en las propias búsquedas personales de personas de fe, catequistas y agentes de pastoral en las comunidades latinas en proceso de formación para su certificación en la Arquidiócesis de Los Ángeles. Por mi experiencia de dos décadas en este ámbito, he visto que estas comunidades están mayormente compuestas por mujeres inmigrantes en las cuales yacen los elementos para luchar por una presencia transformadora en un país ajeno al suyo.

EN:

This work has been elaborated as a personal and ministerial process from the perspective of a lay woman, a believer, inspired by her own identity introspection, for whom spirituality is a fundamental identifying characteristic in this search. This theme has been a responsibility acquired as a leader, guide and companion in the personal search of persons of faith, catechists and pastoral agents in the Latino communities studying for certification in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. In my two decades of experience in this field, I have seen that these communities are largely made up of immigrant women, in whom lie the elements needed to strive for a transformative presence in a country foreign to their own.

EN:

The purpose of this text is to establish connections between the anti-oppressive practices of the feminist and Christian collective L’autre Parole (“the Other Word”), based in Quebec (Canada), and the orientations of liberation theologies on the global stage. The text highlights how Christian feminists from a local community bend, forge, change and rewrite the symbols of domination within the Christian tradition to restore their liberating thread. In this text, we study, in particular, the symbols of Dieue and of Christa. L’autre Parole’s feminism unfolds as a way of living. It posits the hypothesis of a systemic subordination of women to men as a group and it is encapsulated by two key slogans: “The personal is political” and “A woman will not be liberated until all women are liberated.” The article emphasises how the group can challenge its own complicity with forces of domination or collaboration. While possessing a local and temporary character, the anti-oppressive (re)interpretations of Christian symbols proposed by a local group contribute to a global momentum, hence, the interest in analysing such local creations in order to consider the process of global solidarity in action regarding liberation theologies.

FR:

Cet article examine le dialogue interreligieux et féministe au sein du groupe Maria’M, composé de femmes chrétiennes et musulmanes au Québec. Il met en lumière la diversité des perspectives féministes et religieuses au sein du groupe, soulignant les efforts pour concilier ces identités multiples. Les discussions abordent des thèmes tels que la justice sociale, le féminisme, la place des femmes dans les traditions religieuses et la décolonisation du féminisme. Les membres du groupe réfléchissent également à la manière dont leurs croyances influencent leur engagement féministe et leur vision d’un monde plus juste. L’étude souligne le rôle crucial du dialogue interreligieux dans la création d’une solidarité entre les femmes de diverses traditions, favorisant ainsi une compréhension mutuelle et promouvant la diversité comme valeur centrale de leur engagement.

EN:

This article examines the interfaith and feminist dialogue within the Maria’M group of Christian and Muslim women in Quebec. It highlights the diversity of feminist and religious perspectives within the group and the efforts to reconcile these multiple identities. Discussions touch on issues such as social justice, feminism, the place of women in religious traditions and the decolonisation of feminism. Group members also reflect on how their faith informs their feminist commitments and their vision of a more just world. The study highlights the crucial role of inter-religious dialogue in building solidarity between women from different traditions, fostering mutual understanding and promoting diversity as a core value of their commitment.

EN:

Presented as a thought experiment, this essay urges readers to (re)consider how critiques of the colonial concept of man (as a rational being) can disrupt and expand dominant ontologies to birth creative reimaginings of rights talk and protections, especially since rights discourses privilege rationality as the marker of full humanity. The same claims used to debunk animal rights can also be used to debunk human rights, especially for humans lacking a certain cognitive capacity or will. As evident throughout history and in the present, not all flesh and bodies (including hominine ones) are worth the same, notwithstanding aspirational and humanist rhetoric and rights bolstered by colonial and theological concepts. Some “humans” have been and continue to be equated with the savage and with animality — casting doubt on the universal applicability of rights talk as currently framed and deployed. Discussing the potential for animal rights would reconstitute and strengthen human rights — for it would force scholars, activists, judges, lawyers, students and professors to rethink the basis for global and local human rights regimes in light of creative jurisprudences and ontologies not based exclusively on Judeo-Christian or Western paradigms and worldviews. Such project also challenges coloniality and colonialism — the foundational paradigms of “modernity” and existing rights talk. The essay ends with some notes and suggestions on reimagining the human as an important step in demystifying human rights as a universal, eternal paradigm that protects all flesh equally, if at all.

ES:

Comparto la trayectoria de la Comunidad de Sabias y Teólogas Indígenas de Abya Yala, en la ardua tarea de asumir el desafío de beber de nuestras fuentes ancestrales milenarias, cada una desde los espacios a los que pertenece y con los que forma comunidad en los diversos territorios. Desde nuestra convocación, emprendimos el camino de conectarnos con las memorias sanadoras que nos permiten dignificar la vida de nuestros pueblos, y a través de ellos nuestras vidas; reconociendo sus epistemologías y espiritualidades relacionales que, pese a la memoria ingrata de los más de quinientos años de conquista e invasión colonial, no dejaron de cultivar. En el hilo del tiempo que transitamos, nos ubicamos en el sentido de la integralidad de la vida que nos permite desaprender el dualismo del pensamiento moderno y de las religiones monoteístas que separan la vida en realidades contrapuestas e incompatibles. Desde la integralidad de la vida, vivimos el encuentro con la ancestralidad cósmica y humana, desde la que reconocemos las sabidurías que nos ofrecen la sanación para los territorios y cuerpos de las diversas formas de vida, y sanar nuestros linajes heridos, violentados, para armonizar la vida. Por otra parte, en el camino compartido con las sabias, asumimos en los procesos de sanación, la necesidad de equilibrar la predominancia de la energía masculina que se afianza en las sociedades y la religión predominante (el cristianismo) generando una serie de rupturas en las relaciones. Esto nos lleva a reconocer que la energía femenina aún fluye en muchos de nuestros pueblos y que es necesario hacerla más evidente con el fin de armonizar y generar equilibrio en las relaciones entre todas las formas de vida. Agradecidas por la oportunidad de expresar nuestro sentipensar que busca desde los saberes y espiritualidades de nuestros pueblos dignificar la vida en contraposición con aquellos modos de vida que, en nombre del desarrollo, la civilización y hasta del cristianismo atentan contra la vida misma. Que la palabra fluya…

EN:

I share the journey of the Community of Indigenous Wise Women and Theologians of Abya Yala in the arduous task of taking on the challenge of drinking from our millennia-old ancestral wells, each one from the spaces to which she belongs and with which she forms community in the different territories. From our convocation, we embarked on the path of connecting with the healing memories that allow us to dignify the lives of our peoples and, through them, our lives; recognising their epistemologies and relational spiritualities, which they have not ceased to cultivate despite the ungrateful memory of more than five hundred years of conquest and colonial invasion. In the thread of the time we are passing through, we place ourselves in the sense of the integrality of life that allows us to unlearn the dualism of modern thought and of the monotheistic religions, which divide life into opposing and incompatible realities. From the totality of life, we live an encounter with the cosmic and human ancestry, from which we recognise the wisdom that offers us healing for the territories and bodies of the different forms of life and heal our wounded, violated lineages in order to harmonise life. On the other hand, in the path that we share with the wise women, in the healing processes we start from the need to balance the predominance of masculine energy that takes hold in societies and the dominant religion (Christianity), which creates a series of ruptures in relationships. This leads us to recognise that the feminine energy still flows in many of our peoples and that it is necessary to make it more evident in order to harmonise and create balance in the relationships between all forms of life. We are grateful for the opportunity to express our feeling that the knowledge and spirituality of our peoples seek to dignify life, as opposed to those ways of life which, in the name of development, civilisation and even Christianity, seek to go against life itself. Let the word flow...

FR:

Cet article explore le potentiel de la pensée décoloniale à partir d’un retour sur la théologie de l’inculturation qui circule dans l’aire francophone, notamment celle pratiquée à l’Université Catholique du Congo. Critiquant les relents d’une colonialité qui sert de matrice aux structures, aux matières et aux programmes de recherche de la faculté de théologie de cette université, l’auteur en appelle à une rupture épistémologique avec les survivances d’une vision européocentrée et les théologies dominantes qui minorisent les savoirs des marges. Il rend compte de cette rupture en esquissant une théologie décoloniale à partir des travaux de trois théologiens africains : Boka Londi di Mpasi, Jean-Marc Ela et Oscar Bimwenyi Kweshi. À leur suite, il développe le caractère libérateur d’une théologie interculturée.

EN:

This article explores the potential of decolonial thinking by looking back at the theology of inculturation circulating in the French-speaking world, particularly that practised at the Catholic University of Congo. Critiquing the hints of coloniality that serve as a matrix for the structures, subjects and research programmes of the Faculty of Theology of this university, the author calls for an epistemological break with the survivals of a Eurocentric vision and the dominant theologies that downplay knowledge from the margins. He describes this break by outlining a decolonial theology based on the work of three African theologians : Boka Londi di Mpasi, Jean-Marc Ela and Oscar Bimwenyi Kweshi. Following in their footsteps, he develops the liberating character of an intercultural theology.

ES:

En la crisis socioambiental que padecemos globalmente, la emergencia del cuidado de los bienes comunes se relaciona con la lucha contra la racionalidad depredadora del sistema capitalista neoliberal. Se trata de un sistema que en su globalización ha generado un paradigma de civilización hegemónico. No obstante, la gestión de los bienes comunes expresa una práctica y unos valores alternativos; otro estilo de vida. En otras palabras, los bienes comunes manifiestan otra racionalidad porque son gestionados a partir del principio de cooperación, reciprocidad y corresponsabilidad. Los bienes comunes expresan un carácter político (lucha y resistencia) y alternativo (contribución) frente al paradigma de civilización actual. Por lo mencionado, mediante una investigación bibliográfica, nuestro objetivo es realizar una lectura integral e interdisciplinaria de los bienes comunes y su relación con el cuidado de la Tierra, nuestra casa común. Primeramente, abordaremos el concepto de los bienes comunes y su pertinencia. En segundo lugar, revisaremos la posibilidad de relacionar esa noción de bienes comunes con el principio del bien común, desarrollado por el magisterio de la Iglesia. Y, finalmente, a partir de la Ecoteología, proponemos realizar una lectura teológico-pastoral del tema, resaltando tanto su aporte como sus implicaciones o desafíos para la vida.

EN:

In the socio-environmental crisis we are experiencing globally, the emergence of care for the commons is linked to the struggle against the predatory rationality of the neoliberal capitalist system. It is a system that, in its globalisation, has produced a hegemonic paradigm of civilisation. However, the management of the commons expresses an alternative set of practices and values; a different way of life. In other words, the commons express a different rationality because they are managed on the basis of cooperation, reciprocity and co- responsibility. The commons are political (struggle and resistance) and alternative (contribution) to the current paradigm of civilisation. Therefore, through bibliographical research, our aim is to carry out a comprehensive and interdisciplinary reading of the commons and its relation to the care of the earth, our common home. First, we will address the concept of the commons and its relevance. Secondly, we will explore the possibility of relating this notion of the commons to the principle of the common good as developed by the Church’s Magisterium. Finally, on the basis of eco-theology, we propose a theological-pastoral reading of the theme, highlighting both its contribution and its implications or challenges for life.

EN:

The paper poses the question: What would lead to a better and greener post-Covid world in terms of livelihoods and economics? Is this consistent with Catholic social teaching (CST) or a challenge to CST? The paper provides the first external report on a project currently being undertaken by CAFOD (part of Caritas Internationalis) with Durham University. The project undertakes an exploration of one of CAFOD’s priority themes: “a just, green global recovery.” It aims to reflect theologically on the pandemic and how it disrupted economic enabling environments and exacerbated structural inequalities and to suggest some ways forward as and when we begin to emerge from the pandemic. The overall aim of the project is to contribute towards advancing the vision of progress and agenda for change in CAFOD’s strategic framework: Our Common Home (OCH), which was itself inspired by Laudato Si’ and Pope Francis’s insight that “We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental.” Methodologically, the project aims at a multi-layered approach. A grassroots approach is central, building theology up from the voices of CAFOD’s partners. Discussions are being held with partners in Africa, Asia and Latin America to find out what kind of economic enabling environment would improve their lives. This approach is being supplemented by discussions with supporter groups in the UK. The insights from partners will be reflected upon in the light of CST in its widest sense. This includes the papal magisterium, regional episcopal conferences and the insights of liberation theologians.

PT:

O presente artigo parte da investigação do conceito bíblico de justiça distributiva em Mt 5,6 e Mt 5,45. A gramática da ética divina presente na casa comum (LS, n. 94) inspira à conversão e à nova práxis justa. São dois os significados do termo grego dikaiosýne (justiça), presente no Novo Testamento: a justiça redistributiva e relacional. O primeiro significado é essencial para o povo judeu cuidar do órfão, da viúva e dos desamparados. Já o segundo é mais pragmático e individual. Além disso, o critério para a justiça de nossos atos é o impacto das nossas ações nas outras pessoas. Portanto, sem a devida compreensão dos dois sentidos de justiça é praticamente impossível que haja a concretização da fraternidade no mundo e o bem comum efetivo. A misericórdia é a chave “práxica” da justiça, porque desencadeia novos processos de reintegração, numa conversão sistêmica do pecado ecológico.

EN:

This article begins by examining the biblical concept of distributive justice in Mt 5:6 and Mt 5:45. The grammar of divine ethics present in the common home (LS, n. 94) inspires conversion and a new, just praxis. There are two meanings of the Greek term dikaiosýne (justice) in the New Testament: redistributive and relational justice. The first meaning is essential for the Jewish people to care for the orphan, the widow, and the destitute. The second is more pragmatic and personal. Moreover, the criterion for the justice of our actions is the impact of our actions on other people. Therefore, without a proper understanding of the two meanings of justice, it is virtually impossible to achieve fraternity in the world and the effective common good. Mercy is the “practical” key to justice because it triggers new processes of reintegration, in a systemic conversion of ecological sin.

ES:

La realidad de la desaparición forzada en México pone en cuestión estructuras que modelan y dan sentido a la vida social. El presente estudio tiene como objetivo explicitar el impacto que tiene en el quehacer del teólogo el fenómeno de la desaparición forzada y la experiencia de los familiares que buscan a sus desaparecidos. En un país con más de 100 mil desaparecidos, la pregunta por el lugar que ocupa Dios en medio del horror se vuelve central, de modo que volver la mirada a la esperanza de los familiares se convierte en una exigencia evangélica.

EN:

The reality of disappearances in Mexico challenges the structures that shape and give meaning to social life. The aim of this study is to show how the phenomenon of forced disappearance and the experience of relatives searching for the disappeared affect the work of the theologian. In a country with more than 100,000 disappeared, the question of God’s place in the midst of the horror becomes central, so that turning our gaze to the hope of the relatives becomes an evangelical demand.

ES:

Esta reflexión socioteológica examina el gobierno autoritario de Viktor Orbán, que invoca el cristianismo para justificar políticas marginadoras, y lo contrasta con la comunidad luterana Mándak House de Budapest. Dirigida por la pastora Martá Bolba, la Casa Mándak encarna una praxis inspirada en Jesús a través de iniciativas de apoyo a los refugiados, las personas sin hogar y la comunidad romaní. Analizando pasajes del Evangelio de Marcos, este estudio identifica acciones como la sanación social, la confrontación con la opresión sistémica y la reconstrucción de comunidades inclusivas como formas de resistencia. Así pues, la Casa Mándak sirve de modelo para la resistencia basada en la fe, ofreciendo una respuesta subversiva al mal uso nacionalista del discurso religioso.

EN:

This sociotheological reflection examines the authoritarian government of Viktor Orbán, which invokes Christianity to justify marginalizing policies, and contrasts it with the Lutheran community of Mándak House in Budapest. Led by Pastor Martá Bolba, Mándak House embodies a praxis inspired by Jesus through initiatives supporting refugees, homeless people, and the Romani community. Analyzing passages from the Gospel of Mark, this study identifies actions such as social healing, confrontation with systemic oppression, and the rebuilding of inclusive communities as forms of resistance. Thus, Mándak House serves as a model for faith-based resistance, offering a subversive response to the nationalist misuse of religious discourse.