Juan Luis Segundo
Encyclopedia
Juan Luis Segundo, S.J. (born in Montevideo, Uruguay; March 31, 1925 – January 17, 1996) was a Jesuit priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
and theologian who was one of the most important figures in the movement known as "Liberation theology
Liberation theology
Liberation theology is a Christian movement in political theology which interprets the teachings of Jesus Christ in terms of a liberation from unjust economic, political, or social conditions...
." He wrote numerous books on theology, ideology
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
, faith
Faith
Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...
, hermeneutics, and social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
, and was an outspoken critic of what he perceived as church callousness toward oppression
Oppression
Oppression is the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner. It can also be defined as an act or instance of oppressing, the state of being oppressed, and the feeling of being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse conditions, and...
and suffering
Suffering
Suffering, or pain in a broad sense, is an individual's basic affective experience of unpleasantness and aversion associated with harm or threat of harm. Suffering may be qualified as physical or mental. It may come in all degrees of intensity, from mild to intolerable. Factors of duration and...
.
He was a physician by training. In 1941 he joined the Society of Jesus and studied at Jesuit seminaries at Córdoba and the Seminary of San Miguel, both in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, and later at the Faculty of Theology San Alberto in Louvain
Leuven
Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
(where he met fellow student Gustavo Gutiérrez
Gustavo Gutiérrez
Gustavo Gutiérrez Merino, O.P., is a Peruvian theologian and Dominican priest regarded as the founder of Liberation Theology...
). He was ordained in 1955. He obtained his licenciate in 1958, with his thesis "La Cristiandad, una utopía?" Between 1958 and 1963 he studied for the Doctorat d'Etat in the Faculty of Letters of the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
, from which he received his doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
. His thesis was titled "Berdiaeff, una reflexión cristiana sobre la persona."
He returned to Uruguay and in Montevideo he started "Cursos de Complementación Cristiana," in which he analysed political, social and economic problems in the light of Catholic faith. He gave these courses between 1961 and 1964, at the same time he did other work in the continent, collaborating in Chile with Roger Vekemans, SJ, in political typology in his "Ensayo de tipología socioeconómica latinoamericana" and with Renato Poblete in the "Ensayo de tipología política de América Latina" (published by OEA in Washington in 1961). In 1965, he co-founded the Peter Faber Center of Theological and Social Studies (Centro de Investigación y Acción Social "Pedro Fabro"), which was closed by the Uruguayan government in the 1970s. The Center dedicated itself to investigating the interrelations between society and religion. Some work was published in the review, Perspectivas de Diálogo. With his experience in the Center, Segundo wrote his fundamental work, Teología abierta para el laico adulto, in five volumes, published in Argentina by the Editorial Carlos Lohlé.
After that, he traveled, lecturing and teaching at universities in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and the U.S., including Harvard. In 1970 he met in Petrópolis
Petrópolis
Petrópolis , also known as The Imperial City of Brazil, is a town in the state of Rio de Janeiro, about 65 km from the city of Rio de Janeiro....
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, other Latin American theologians who started the Theology of Liberation. Together with the Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian theologian Gustavo Gutiérrez, he was one of the creators of the movement. In 1974 he had the distinction of "Best Book in 1974 Liturgy" of the Catholic Press Association of New York for The Sacraments Today, vol. 4 of A Theology for Artisans of a New Humanity.
His major works (translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
from the original Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
) include:
- Berdiaeff. Une Réflexion chrétienne sur la Personne. Ed. Aubier, Paris 1963 (Col. Théologie 53)
- A Theology for Artisans of a New Humanity (5 vols., 1973-74) (Teología abierta para el laico adulto. Ed. Carlos Lohlé, Buenos Aires, in collaboration with the Centro Pedro Fabro of Montevideo.)
- The Liberation of TheologyThe Liberation of TheologyThe Liberation of Theology is a book on theology written by Juan Luis Segundo, S.J. and published by Orbis Books.-Climate:This book was written 8 years after the Medellin Conference of Latin American Bishops. Jose Segundo was not invited to the conference, but met with others near the conference...
(1975-76) - Hidden Motives of Pastoral Action: Latin American Reflections (English edition, 1978)
- Jesus of Nazareth Yesterday and Today (5 vols., 1982-88; volume 1, Faith and Ideologies, is the best known)
- Theology and the Church: a response to Cardinal RatzingerPope Benedict XVIBenedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
and a Warning to the Whole Church (1985) - The Liberation of Dogma (1989-1992)