The Liberation Theology Podcast
The Liberation Theology Podcast offers a close look at the foundational concepts of Latin American liberation theology. Hosted by David Inczauskis, SJ, a Jesuit, the show walks through key ideas, thinkers and texts that shaped this theological movement. Episodes unpack how faith, justice and the experiences of the poor intersect in Latin American Catholic thought. It serves as an accessible introduction for listeners new to liberation theology as well as a refresher for those already familiar with it.
Episodes
Ep. 38: Jesus and Justice
John Dominic Crossan and Michael Okinczyc-Cruz join the show to discuss their recently published book "Jesus and Justice: Organizing for God's Reign on Earth Then and Now." Who is Jesus? What characterizes Jesus' way of community organizing? What can one learn about Jesus and the Reign of God movement by looking at Jesus' historical context?The Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadershi
Ep. 37: Spirituality for Community Organizing with Br. Ken Homan, SJ
Br. Ken Homan, SJ, joins David to discuss their recently published article, "Community Organizing and the Call of the King."Article:https://www.pdcnet.org/jcathsoc/content/jcathsoc_2024_0021_0002_0307_0324Spiritual Exercise:https://www.academia.edu/126445163/The_Call_of_the_King_Exercise_from_Community_Organizing_and_the_Call_of_the_King_Music:"Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins"A
Ep. 36: Simone Weil and Liberation Spirituality w/ Faiz Abimanyu Wiguna (Pt. 2)
Faiz Abimanyu Wiguna recounts the life of the philosopher, activist, and mystic Simone Weil. He presents his thesis, which offers a liberationist perspective on the rosary through Simone Weil's practice of attention.
Ep. 35: Conversion, Coups, and Catholicism in Indonesia w/ Faiz Abimanyu Wiguna (Pt. 1)
What led Faiz Abimanyu Wiguna to liberationist Catholicism? Faiz tells his story as well as that of politics and religion in Indonesia.Music:"Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom JenkinsObtained via subscription to Audio Network
Ep. 34: Intro to Liberation Theology with the Word in Black and Red *BONUS*
On this bonus episode, the Liberation Theology Podcast partners with the Word in Black and Red Podcast. It's a co-released introduction to liberation theology. We discuss the meaning of liberation theology, its varieties, its methods, some key concepts, and several misconceptions.The Word in Black and Red:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-word-in-black-and-red/id1682991552Music:"L
Ep. 33: Jesus' Political Message and the Catholic Teacher w/ James Kirylo
To what extent and how was Jesus' message political? David discusses Juan Hernández Pico's response to this question. Then, David interviews the education professor James D. Kirylo, who has written a recent book, The Catholic Teacher, with significant influences from liberation theology and critical pedagogy. Resources:No sea así entre ustedes by Juan Hernández Picohttps://archive.org/det
Ep. 32: Christology in Times of Empire: Liberation Theologians' References to Patristics
Liberation theology constitutes not only a rupture from Church tradition but also a creative development of this tradition. David investigates the ways that Latin American liberation theologians draw support from, and sometimes critique, the Church Fathers.Resources:Mysterium liberationishttps://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.htmlLa foi en Jésus-Christ by Jon Sobrinohttps://www
Ep. 31: Creation and the Material World
Pedro Trigo, SJ, helps us answer three key questions about creation and the material world. How to believe in a God of life in a situation marked by death? How to live with God when it is demanded of us to bear the mark of the beast? What is the relationship between humanity and nature?Resources:Mysterium liberationishttps://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.htmlMusic:"Los molinos
Ep. 30: The Church Fathers and Anti-Capitalist Christianity with Stephen D. Morrison
Ecumenical theologian and author Stephen D. Morrison joins David to discuss common objections to liberation theology and to present a patristic, anti-capitalist Christianity. Isn’t Christianity about a change of heart and a personal relationship with God? Why turn religion into economics and politics? It’s true that early Christians abolished private property and shared their possessions,
Ep. 29: Inculturation w/ Laurel Marshall Potter
Laurel Marshall Potter and David Inczauskis present, critique, and share personal intercultural experiences related to the content of Paulo Suess' Mysterium Liberationis chapter on inculturation. How have the Catholic sacraments been abused in the process of Latin America's colonization? To what extent can we arrive at an understanding of Jesus' culture and relate it to today's cultural m
Ep. 28: Revolution, Violence, and Peace
Revolutionary force does not emerge from a blank slate, from a level playing field. It is a response to systemic injustice, to repression, to a state of affairs that kills, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. Drawing from Juan Hernández Pico's ML chapter, David looks at the historical, biblical, and ecclesial sources of a liberationist approach to violence. To conclude, David presents a
Ep. 27: The Crucified People w/ Dr. Michael E. Lee
Dr. Michael E. Lee joins the podcast for the first time to discuss Ignacio Ellacuría's essay "The Crucified People" in Mysterium Liberationis. The discussion covers the story of Prof. Lee's engagement with Ellacuría; the relationship among the crucifixion of contemporary people in Latin America, the crucifixion of Jesus, and salvation; the debate surrounding this landmark text; and Ellacu
Ep. 26: Dialogue with European Theology w/ María Soledad del Villar Tagle
María Soledad del Villar Tagle returns to speak about some of the European roots of Gutiérrez' liberation theology in the French nouvelle théologie movement. David shares the varied responses of two German theologians, Moltmann and Metz, to liberation theology, and concludes with a positive assessment of the compatibility of Catholicism and socialism as well as a refutation of the alleged
Ep. 25: Oscar Romero and Ordained Ministries with Dr. Irene B. Hodgson
The Spanish-to-English translator of St. Oscar Romero's diary, Dr. Irene B. Hodgson of Xavier University, joins David to discuss the archbishop's inspirational life and his understanding of his role as an ordained minister. Then, David presents three theses on ministry in the church based on José María Castillo's chapter in "Mysterium Liberationis."Main texts:A Shepherd's Diary by Oscar R
Ep. 24: Ideology, Part 2
David presents and assesses three perspectives on the relation between ideology and Christianity from the French Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser, the German theologian Karl Rahner, SJ, and the Spanish-born Salvadoran philosopher and theologian Ignacio Ellacuría, SJ.Main texts:"Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses" (1970) by Louis Althusserhttps://www.marxists.org/reference/archi
Ep. 23: Ideology, Part 1
What exactly is ideology? How does liberation theology respond to critics who claim that liberation theology itself is ideological? And how does liberation theology engage with the prominent ideologies of our day?Main text:Mysterium liberationishttps://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.htmlSecondary texts:Composer un monde en commun: Une théologie politique de l'anthropocène by Ga
Ep. 22: Liturgy and Sacraments
Jesuit scholar and priest Anthony Lusvardi introduces the sacraments as the ecclesial preservation of the embodied graces of Jesus' earthly presence and as the primary way that most Catholics engage with God and the Church. David interprets Víctor Codina's chapter on the sacraments, situates them within the project of the reign of God, and describes the sense in which liturgy should be "u
Ep. 21: Evangelization
Though many consider "evangelization" to be converting others to Christianity, in liberation theology, "evangelization" means more than sharing a creed: it means bringing glad tidings to the poor--as Jesus himself defined it. It means seeing the suffering of the oppressed, feeling compassion, and acting smartly to alleviate their present pain as well as uprooting the unjust systemic facto
Ep. 20: Liberation Christology w/ John Thiede, SJ
John Thiede, SJ, joins David to discuss liberation Christology. How have liberation theologians thought about Christ, and what difference does a liberationist understanding of Christ make in Latin America?Texts:Mysterium liberationishttps://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.htmlRemembering Oscar Romero and the Martyrs of El Salvador: A Cloud of Witnesses by John Thiede, SJhttps://
Ep. 19: The Trinity, Pt. 2
Leonardo Boff shows how the Trinity serves as a model for a just society and how heresies against the Trinity reflect and reinforce various kinds of social oppression. David shares highlights from an interview with Chema Tojeira, SJ, on Nayib Bukele and El Salvador's crypto-financialization.Texts:Mysterium liberationishttps://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.html"El Salvador’s pr
Ep. 18: The Trinity, Pt. 1
God is not a single person but a community of three equal persons. So, as the Orthodox socialists of Russia would say, "The Trinity should be our social program." We examine the first half of Leonardo Boff's essay on the Trinity alongside commentary by Ismael Moreno, SJ, on the presidential victory of the social democrat Xiomara Castro in Honduras.Texts:Mysterium liberationishttps://www.o
Ep. 17: The Assassination of Ellacuría and Revelation, Faith, Signs of the Times, Pt. 2
Why did the Salvadoran military assassinate Ignacio Ellacuría, SJ, and his companions on Nov. 16, 1989? Ellacuría openly and emphatically emphasized this subversive dimension of the Christian faith. He claimed that Latin America is searching for “revolutionary change rather than reformist change” and that Christianity exhibits a “subversive dynamism,” which, though running the risk of Mar
Ep. 16: Revelation, Faith, Signs of the Times, Pt. 1
We return to "Mysterium Liberationis" and interpret Juan Luis Segundo SJ's essay "Revelation, Faith, Signs of the Times." Despite the order of the elements in the title, historically speaking, humans face the signs of the times, bet with faith on a way of addressing them, and come to understand this way as revelation (or not) according to its fruits. David shares two personal narratives t
Ep. 15: Feminist Liberation Ecclesiology w/ María Soledad del Villar Tagle
Guest María Soledad del Villar Tagle and David discuss the church from the intersecting angles of feminism, liberation, Chile, personal experience, and clerical sexual abuse.Sole's work:Academia.eduhttps://bc.academia.edu/Mar%C3%ADaSoledadDelVillarTagleLas asistentes sociales de la Vicaría de la Solidaridadhttps://www.amazon.com/-/es/Mar%C3%ADa-Soledad-Del-Villar-Tagle/dp/9563571509Mujere
Ep. 14: The Reign of God w/ Marcus Mescher
David and Marcus discuss Sobrino's essay "The Central Position of the Reign of God in Liberation Theology." How do we define the Reign of God? What are its biblical and historical parameters?Text:Mysterium liberationishttps://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.htmlMusic:"Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins"Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam DrakeObtained via subscripti
Ep. 13: Utopia and Prophecy, Part 2
What is the new human being? What will the new economy and new society look like? David uses the war on terror to illustrate the "old human being" and compares Ignacio Ellacuría's vision of the new human being with Che Guevara's.Texts:Mysterium liberationishttps://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.html"Socialism and Man in Cuba" by Ernesto "Che" Guevarahttps://www.marxists.org/arc
Ep. 12: Utopia and Prophecy, Part 1
Ignacio Ellacuría, SJ, contends that, in liberation praxis, prophecy is the method, utopia is the horizon, and the reign of God is the revelation. David interviews Patrick Saint-Jean, SJ, about his new book "The Spiritual Work of Racial Justice."Text:Mysterium liberationishttps://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.htmlSaint-Jean's book:The Spiritual Work of Racial Justicehttps://ww
Ep. 11: Liberty and Liberation
Juan Luis Segundo, SJ, argues that the word "liberation" captures the essential meaning of the biblical terms for "salvation" and "redemption." Biblical "freedom" is the ability to be artisans of a new humanity.Text:Mysterium liberationishttps://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.htmlBooks mentioned:Our Idea of Godhttps://www.amazon.com/Theology-Artisans-New-Humanity-Idea/dp/161097
Ep. 10: The Historicity of Christian Salvation, Part 2
Text:"Mysterium liberationis"https://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.htmlMagnificast episode on Margaret Randall: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nicaragua-and-cuba-w-margaret-randall/id1214644619?i=1000521683859Music:"Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins"Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam DrakeObtained via subscription to Audio Network
Ep. 9: The Historicity of Christian Salvation, Part 1
Text:"Mysterium liberationis"https://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.htmlMusic:"Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins"Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam DrakeObtained via subscription to Audio Network
Ep. 8: The Preferential Option for the Poor
Text:"Mysterium liberationis"https://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.htmlMusic:"Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins"Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam DrakeObtained via subscription to Audio Network
Ep. 7: Biblical Hermeneutics
The oppressed of Latin America read the Bible not as “past history alone but as a story that is still happening today.” They see biblical history as the process of the formation of a free and united people. Jesus did not primary come to save individual people from their individual sins but to save the people from their social sin. Two chapters from Ernesto Cardenal's "The Gospel in Solent
Ep. 6: Catholic Social Teaching and Liberation Theology with Marcus Mescher, Pt. 2
Some of Marcus Mescher's work:The Ethics of Encounter, book: https://www.orbisbooks.com/the-ethics-of-encounter.html"5 lessons Pope Francis has taught us with his actions more than his words", article: https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/03/12/5-lessons-pope-francis-has-taught-his-actions-more-his-wordsMusic:"Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins"Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-Kin
Ep. 5: Catholic Social Teaching and Liberation Theology with Marcus Mescher, Pt. 1
Some of Marcus Mescher's work:The Ethics of Encounter, book: https://www.orbisbooks.com/the-ethics-of-encounter.html"5 lessons Pope Francis has taught us with his actions more than his words", article: https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/03/12/5-lessons-pope-francis-has-taught-his-actions-more-his-wordsMusic:"Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins"Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-Kin
Ep. 4: Marxism and Liberation Theology with Dean Dettloff
Dean Dettloff's work:"The Catholic Case for Communism": https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2019/07/23/catholic-case-communism"Civil Disobedience": https://geezmagazine.org/magazine/article/civil-disobedienceMusic:"Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins"Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam DrakeObtained via subscription to Audio Network
Ep. 3: Epistemology and Method in Liberation Theology
Clodovis Boff discusses the theory, forms, and method of liberation theology, and David relates the three forms--popular, pastoral, and professional--to Ernesto Cardenal's base community at Solentiname, Ismael Moreno's prophetic pastoral work in Honduras, and Juan Luis Segundo's paradigm shift in academic theology.
Ep. 2: The History of Liberation Theology, Pt. 2
Roberto Oliveros distinguishes four phrases in the development of liberation theology: gestation, genesis, growth, and consolidation. David shares three stories from Honduras about theater, water, and mining, each related to the struggle for liberation.Music"Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins"Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam DrakeObtained via subscription to Audio Network
Ep. 1: The History of Liberation Theology, Pt. 1
Mysterium liberationis edited by Ignacio Ellacuría, SJ, and Jon Sobrino, SJ, is the book that the podcast explores. Its first chapter by Roberto Oliveros, SJ, looks at the history of liberation theology in the light of Vatican II and the Latin American experience of poverty. David shares his first encounter with liberation theology in Guatemala.Music"Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jen
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