Never could I have envisioned during my early years in the priesthood what would eventually be taken from me, I would be silenced by the Vatican and that my dearest friends would become my greatest adversaries. None of that matters now, I am still working towards the same goal, I just "changed trenches to continue the same fight"(Boff, September 22, 2006). Although I am not one to boast, and even my opponents would agree that I am not one to think of the self over the whole, (they call me a socialist, like it's a bad thing!), I will reflect on my contribution to Catholic Culture be it good or bad. My life's purpose is working with the poor and oppressed, to create the kingdom of God here on earth, by liberating the marginalized and consequently, trying to bring the Catholic Church into a new and unique era but failing in this respect, for now. During my early experience with Liberation Theology, I still identified with the Church and believed that it could change in my lifetime. With the passage of time, I recognized that Liberation Theology transcends Catholic Orthodoxy and only if this is recognized by the Church, can it grow along with this new movement. Eventually, after mine and others' schisms with the institutionalized Catholic Church, I began to see Liberal Christianity as autonomous from the Church but not from the Kingdom, and that eventually, as in history, the Church would catch up with the times.
At an early stage in my life, I recognized the need for change within the Church, due to my life in turbulent Brazil and my studies abroad, during the first wave of Liberation Theology in Europe. Brazilian socioeconomic strife, political dissention and overall injustice towards the poor of Latin America lead to my passion for Liberation Theology. Brazil, one of ...