base ecclesial communities
(Sp. comunidades eclesiales de base). Small neighbourhood groups, mainly in Latin America, who integrate spiritual and social issues, mainly by reflection on the dialectic between Scripture and ...
Benedict XVI
(1927– )Pope (2005– ). After teaching theology at the universities of Bonn, Münster, and Tübingen, he was appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising and created a cardinal in 1977. Pope John Paul II ...
Black Power
Originating as a movement in the 1960s, it was developed into a coherent ideology by Stokely Carmichael and Charles Hamilton in their book Black Power (1969). It called upon African Americans to take ...
Book of Exodus
This OT Book records the events attending the ‘Exodus’ (i.e. the release of the Israelites under Moses from their Egyptian bondage) and the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. Its authorship has ...
Catholic Church
Is the denomination of Western Christianity in communion with the Pope that traces its faith in Jesus Christ to the community formed around the apostles. Since the European Reformation of ...
Catholicism
The word derives from the universality of faith in the Christian church, but since the 16th cent. has referred to the portion of Christianity accepting papal authority. It delineates the distinctive ...
Christianity (7b) – Political Theology
The new “political theology” grew up in Germany after the Second World War. The shock of Auschwitz, and the shock too at the failure of the churches during the Hitler ...
Christianity in Brazil
The conversion of Brazil was effected mainly by the Jesuits, who founded the city of São Paulo in 1554. The influx of slaves from Africa, who were forcibly converted to Christianity, produced a ...
Christianity in El Salvador
Christianity came to El Salvador with the Spaniards who conquered the Pipil Indians in the 1520s. The country was part of the Spanish Captaincy General of Guatemala until 1821, a constituent of the ...
Christianity in Nicaragua
Catholic Christianity came to Nicaragua in the 16th cent. with the Spanish conquest of the western and central parts (completed by 1524). Because Nicaragua was at the periphery of the Spanish Empire, ...
Edward Cornelis Florentius Alfons Schillebeeckx
(1914– ), Dutch RC theologian. He became a Dominican in 1934. He was a professor at Louvain (1947–58) and then at Nijmegen (1958–82). He attended the Second Vatican Council not as a peritus (official ...
Guatemala
Guatemala endured 36 years of civil war. But the injustices that led to the war remain unresolvedGuatemala is one of the most picturesque countries in Central America. The northern, sparsely ...
Helder Camara
(1909–99), RC Abp. of Olinda and Recife in Brazil from 1964 to 1985. A native of Brazil, he was consecrated auxiliary Bp. of Rio de Janeiro in 1952. Here he was instrumental in setting up the ...
Jean-Bertrand Aristide
(b. 15 July 1953).President of Haiti 1991–6, 2001–4 Born in Port Salut, he became a priest of the Salesian order. He was a committed preacher of liberation theology, but the more the political ...
John Paul II
1920–2005)Polish-born pope (1978–2005) whose many travels abroad included a visit to Britain (1982) and tours of his native country (1979, 1987, and 1991).Wojtyla was born in Wadowice, Poland, the ...
Kingdom of God
The conception of the Kingdom of God (or in Mt. the ‘Kingdom of Heaven’) is a central element in the teaching of Jesus Christ. Its origins lie in the OT. God's reign was expected to bring with it ...
narrative ethics
An approach to ethical problems and practice that involves listening to and interpreting people’s stories rather than applying principles or rules to particular situations. This context-specific ...
orthopraxis
‘Right‐doing’, the complement of orthodoxy (cf. 1 John 2: 3–6). In Christianity right belief about Jesus must be validated by imitating Jesus, including his suffering (cf. Luke 9: 23). The condition ...
Oscar Arnulfo Romero
(1917–80), Abp. of San Salvador from 1977. At the time of his appointment, he was known as a conservative; as recently as 1976 he had attacked Liberation Theology as expounded by Jon Sobrino. Partly ...
