Motivation for Liberation Theology

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"One day, in plain Brazilian Northeast arid region, one of the hungriest regions in the world, I found a bishop shaking, rushing into the house. 'Mr. bishop, what happend?' And he answered, breathing heavily, that he witnessed something horrible. He found a young lady with three children plus one on her arms in front of the Cathedral. He saw that they were fainting with hunger. The child on her arms seemed dead. He said: 'Woman, give your breast to the child!' 'I can't, mr. bishop!', she answered. The bishop insisted many times again. And she always answered: 'Mr. bishop, I can't!' At last, because of the insistence of the bishop, she opened her breast. It was bleeding. The small child turned with violence to the breast. She was sucking blood. And the mother that conceived this life was feeding her, as a pelican, with her own life, with her blood. The bishop knelled before the woman. He put his hand on the child's head. At that very place he made a promise to God: while the situation of misery lasts, I will feed at least one hungry child per day".


Fragment of the book 'Como Fazer Teologia da Libertação' [How to do Liberation Theology], by L. Boff and C. Boff, Editora Vozes. ISBN 978-85-326-0542-9.  - Free translation by Gustavo K-fé Frederico.


I, K-fé, was thinking what could be the motivation to do liberation theology. I remembered this and other examples of the book. The cruel misery and the social injustices in Brazil - and in three quarters of the world - would be motivations. When we think about 'love your neighbour' we proceed quickly to the social application of the command. In my view, the scope of theological praxis in Brazil need to have at minimum the same scope of Liberation Theology.