Liberation Theology and the KGB

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Catholic News Agency recently ran an interview with a high ranking KGB defector, Mihai Pacepa. Turns out the Soviets were only to happy to sponsor and facilitate the Liberation Theology movement, which took Latin America by storm from the 1960 onwards.

Liberation Theology is clearly heretical and was fought tooth and nail by the Popes of the time (Paul VI and John Paul II). It attempted to build a man's world on earth instead of focusing on God. I now realize why there were Jesuits in the Marxist government of Nicaragua... The footage of the reception JP II received on his visit to that country makes me sick to the stomach as a Catholic.

A question that remains is why did influential theologians such as Karl Rahner (also a Jesuit I think) support LT?

Anyway, full text of the interview can be found here - http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/former-soviet-spy-we-created-liberation-theology-83634/

Manach

Addressing the OP's initial post, there are parts I'd agree with and other's I'd respectfully disagree with. So I'm respresenting my own opinion as to provide another perspective.

A substantive part of the OP's post, that of the KGB or other totalaririan forces directly or indirectly seeking to undermine or setup agent provacteurs is correct. For instance in the Soviet Union, this has been chronicled by the recent author Oliver Bullough.

But how much of Liberation theology is linked to these efforts is difficult to quantify because at its heart, aspects of such were and still are part of the Church's core mission to minister to the poor, and this aspect was praised by Pope Benedict (as reported by Robert Allen) in 2007. From its base in South America, it did seek to address the disproportionate levels of power between the have and have-nots and by standing up and seeking a redress, many clerics were sincerely trying to achived a fair societal outcome and paid the ultimate price: as per the true meaning of the Catholic original doctrine of Social Justice. It would just be the case that when carried to an extreme, to completely focus solely on economic grounds and not take onboard a holistic view of Church teaching then that is when such mono-focusing went beyond the set mission.

Hence, as per the Church's duty to seek the centre the more disperate elements of Liberation theology came under censure.

Peregrinus

Almost any theology is going to have political implications, and may end up being supported (or opposed) by those whose interests and motivations are political rather than religious. It may be true that the KGB looked with favour on Liberation Theology; it's equally true that the CIA looked with disfavour on it and, if I recall correctly, provided funding and support to churchmen of opposing theological views. Neither of these things is of much interest to a Christian, and they certainly tell us nothing about the validity or usefulness of the theological perspectives concerned, which needs to be considered in light of the gospel, not the concerns of secular politicians. Event today, certain socially conservative theologies attract support from the US right; should we dismiss them for that reason?

stannis

Minor nitpick, OP - Pacepa was a defector from the Securitate (the Romanian secret service), not the KGB. He wrote a book abou this time with the Ceausescus called Red Horizons, which is worth checking out.