catholic-socialists

"Colombian society is, in its majority, a Catholic society in the sense that it complies with external rites (baptism, confession, Communion, marriage, burial Mass, extreme unction, processions, novenae, scapulars, first Fridays). Within Colombian society, there are many who love their fellow man, with the love manifest in self-surrender, although they deny that they are Catholics or, at least, deny they belong to the church—the church being understood as the ecclesiastical structure. If the pastoral program is concentrated on maintaining the above stated situation, it may not be possible to build or extend the Kingdom of God. If the priority of love above all is accepted, if preaching is preferred over the celebration of rites, the hierarchy will have to undertake a missionary pastoral program. Pastoral mission requires that quality rather than quantity of Catholics be emphasized. More insistence must be placed on personal conviction than on the usual pressures of family and society. The exclusive teaching of Catholicism in the schools must be abandoned, and pluralism must be accepted. Freedom of speech must be permitted in the classroom. Both children and adults must be led in Bible study. Emphasis must be placed more on the love that is surrender of self than on professed faith and religious observances. Preaching of the Gospel must be stressed above the celebration of rites. Steps must be taken to eliminate social and psychological factors which stand in the way of a conscientious and personal involvement in the church on the part of those who want to love and surrender themselves to others. Within these factors are the economic power of the church and the political power of the church. This power resides formally in laws and in the Concordat. It lies informally in clericalism (intromission, the desire to dominate in the temporal plane)."

"I was chosen by Christ to be a priest forever because of the desire to concentrate my full time to the love of my fellow men. As a sociologist I have wanted this love to be translated into efficient service through technology and science. My analysis of Colombian society made me realize that revolution is necessary to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked and procure a life of well-being for the needy majority of our people."

"The catholic who is not a revolutionary is living in mortal sin."

"With the rise in national income came an apparent elevation, although not proportionate, of the economic level of the majority groups. This facilitated the increase of the educational level and of cooperatives of every kind among these same groups which began to exercise various and effective pressures on governmental organs. The play of forces between the minorities as holders of the economic power and the organized majorities became more equitable. Private interests became more general. Naturally, this occurred within national boundaries, because in international policy the interests of the indigent countries were sacrificed to those of the rich countries. Lenin’s prediction began to come true: national capitalism was changed into international imperialism."

"There ought to be an elimination of the social and psychological factors which hinder a conscious and personal adherence to the Church among those who desire to love and serve their fellow men. Among these factors are the economic power of the Church and its political power. This is manifested formally through laws and the Concordat, and informally by clericalism (meddling in temporal matters with a domineering spirit). Among other factors we should mention the cultural, sociological, and psychological separation between the clergy and the faithful, the lack of solidarity with the poor, and the lack of scientific spirit in the Church."

"If Jesus was alive today, he would be a guerrillero."

"The platform (manifesto) of struggle of the United Front of the People can be realized only after the people have taken power. Its only novelty consists in its seeking the common points of the revolution without entering into religious or party differences. It can be accepted by Catholics and non-Catholics, by poor Liberals and poor Conservatives, by the revolutionary elements of the NML, the Communist, ANAPO, and Christian Democratic parties, and especially by the revolutionary elements of the non-aligned in these groups. However, it is necessary to explain that this platform leans toward the establishment of a socialist state; that is, “socialist” understood only in a technical and positive sense, not in the ideological sense. We offer practical, not theoretical, socialism."

"It has often been said that our Catholics are fetishists. It may well be that there are many manifestations of it. It is certainly evident in the preaching and teaching of Christian morality, with its emphasis on sexual matters and its insistence upon external observance. Some people maliciously insinuate that that is what brings the priests most money. However, there are many popular external practices, not specifically Christian, perhaps fetishistic, which do not represent any type of profit for the priests, and yet the priests insist on them. As heirs of Spanish Catholicism, we place emphasis on the external. It can be practiced more easily and widely."

"For the unity of the popular class, until death! For the organization of the popular class, until death! For the seizure of power for the working class, until death! Until death, because we are determined to go all the way. Until victory, because a people who give themselves up until death always achieve victory. Until the final victory, with the slogans of the NATIONAL LIBERATION ARMY. Not one step back... Liberation or death!"

"I am fervent partisan to the expropriation of Church property even in the case that no revolution might occur."

"We should lead people to love, with that love manifest in surrender of self, we should preach the gospel; we should celebrate external rites - Eucharist and sacraments."

"The duty of every Christian is to be revolutionary, and that of the revolutionary to make the revolution (...) when the people decide to fight to the end there will be no power that can be superior to the power of that people who want their freedom."

"By Marxists we mean specifically those who adhere to historical and dialectical materialism. Among these are the orthodox Communists, whom we will investigate separately. First we shall consider Marxists who do not obey the discipline of the official Communist Party. 1. Possibilities. In the modern world, Marxists began the movement advocating structural change. They have technical experts in economics and in the physical and biological sciences. But dogmatism in the social sciences has been partially harmful to the orthodox Marxists who are the most emphatically dogmatic. We say “partially,” because orthodox socio-economic analyses are in harmony with the socio-economic structures of the indigent countries. As a matter of fact, if we compare Marxist analyses stricdy pertaining to the socio-economic structures of these countries with capitalist analyses, we will find that the Marxist analyses are better adapted to reality and especially to the expectations of the indigent majorities. With reference to economic planning, Marxists have held the first place, but it is important to recognize the difference between the purely economic, administrative, and technical mechanism of economic planning which authoritatively regulates investments, and the philosophy which inspired this regulation. In our time, this same regulation is inspired and practiced by virtue of other philosophies, for example in Israel. This proves that it is not necessarily connected with Marxist ideology. 2. Advantages. Among the advantages of Marxist planning we should note its orientation, which is specifically popular, and the value of its analyses of underdeveloped or developing societies. We should also keep in mind its tradition in the struggle for structural change and technical planning. 3. Disadvantages. The orthodox Marxists run the risk of being dogmatic in socio-economic matters which are most complex, variable, and contingent. Likewise, with regard to tactics, the party members follow prefabricated schemes which in many cases, as in Cuba, oblige them to diverge from the revolutionary struggles that are not in keeping with these schemes. With regard to heterodox Marxists, they can run the risk of pursuing truncated and diminished ends because they are confined within materialistic conceptions. As for the means employed, it is probable that many of them restrain and curb certain human rights."

"I have left the privileges and duties of the clergy, but I have not stopped being a priest. I believe that I have given myself to the Revolution out of love for my neighbor. I have stopped saying Mass in order to realize this love for my neighbor, in the temporal, economic and social realms. When my neighbor has nothing against me, when I have accomplished the Revolution, I will return to offering Mass if God allows me. I believe that in this way I am following Christ's command: "If you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift" (St. Matthew V, 23-24)."

"The problems of divorce and birth control that Colombian women believe they can resolve within a conformist and oppressive system cannot be resolved except within a system that respects people's conscience and individual, family and social rights. They cannot be resolved except when there is a State that has true autonomy and at the same time respect in relation to the ecclesiastical hierarchy."

"The followers of the United Front, when planning the take-over of political power necessarily have to make a tactical decision - to follow through to the ultimate consequences and use whatever means the oligarchy leaves open to seize power. This attitude has no great ideological consequences because the church itself has established the conditions for a just war. Violence is not excluded from the Christian ethic, because if Christianity is concerned with eliminating the serious evils which we suffer and with saving us from the continuous violence in which we live without possible solution, the ethic is to be violent once and for all in order to destroy the violence which the economic minorities exercise against the people.https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/3552/1/398627.pdf"

"The revolutionary struggle is not just any struggle—it is not a commitment of a few hours or a few pesos. It is a struggle to which it is necessary to commit one's life."

"We must not allow ourselves to be misled by the myth of elections, unless the popular class controls the electoral system, presents a programme of fundamental change of the institutions, breaks up the present political power system so that the majority constitutes the main pressure group and determines the policy and makes the decisions of the government."

"The Church's temporary defects should not scandalize us. The Church is human. What is important is to believe that she is also divine and that if we Christians fulfill our obligation to love our neighbor, we are strengthening the Church."

"If the application of economic and social principles turns out well, it is probable that the insistence on philosophical speculation will fade out. As a matter of fact, this has already happened in certain places, as for instance in Poland. What is more, the most recent statements of Togliatti concerning antireligious tactics show how Marxism must evolve in its theory, if in practice it has shown that religion is not “the opium of the people.”"

"The main thing in Catholicism is love for one's neighbour. "He who loves his neighbour fulfils his law." (St. Paul, Rom. XIII, 8). This love, to be true, must seek effectiveness. If charity, alms, the few free schools, the few housing schemes, what has been called "charity", is not enough to feed the majority of the hungry, nor to clothe the majority of the naked, nor to teach the majority of those who do not know, we must seek effective means for the well-being of the majority."

"Because of the traditional relations between Christians and Marxists, and between the Church and the Communist party, it is quite likely that erroneous suspicions and suppositions will arise regarding the relations of Christians and Marxists within the United Front, and of a priest and the Communist Party. This is why I want to clarify to the Colombian people my relations with the Communist Party and its position within the United Front. I have said that I am a revolutionary as a Colombian, as a sociologist, as a Christian, and as a priest. I believe that there are elements within the Communist Party which are genuinely revolutionary. Consequently, I cannot be anti-Communist either as a Colombian, as a sociologist, as a Christian, or as a priest. I am not anti-Communist as a Colombian because anti-Communism in my country is best on persecuting the dissatisfied, whether they be Communist or not, who in the main are poor people. I am not an anti-Communist as a sociologist because the Communist proposals to combat poverty, hunger, illiteracy, and lack of housing and public service are effective and scientific. I am not an anti-Communist as a Christian because I believe that anti-Communism condemns the whole of Communism, without acknowledging that there is both right and wrong in its cause. By condemning the whole it's like condemning both the just and the unjust, and this is anti-Christian. I am not anti-Communist as a priest because whether the Communists realize it or not, there are within their ranks some authentic Christians. If they are working in good faith, they might well be the recipients of sanctifying grace. Should this be true, and should they love their neighbor, they would be saved. My role as a priest, even though I am not exercising its prerogatives externally, is to lead all men to God. The most effective way to do this is to get men to serve the people in keeping with their conscience. I do not intend to proselytize among the Communists and to try to get them to accept Christian teaching and go to church. I do want all men to act in accordance with their conscience, to look in earnest for the truth, and to love their neighbor effectively. The Communists must be fully aware of the fact that I will not join their ranks, that I am not nor will I ever be a Communist, either as a Colombian, as a sociologist, as a Christian, or as a priest. Yet I am disposed to fight with them for common objectives: against the oligarchy and the domination of the United States, and for the takeover of power by the popular class. I do not want public opinion to identify me with the Communists. This is why in all my public appearances I have wanted to be surrounded not only by the Communists but by all revolutionaries, be they independent or followers of other movements. . . . Once the popular class assumes power, with the help of all revolutionaries, then our people will be ready to discuss the religious orientation they should give their lives. Poland is an example of how socialism can be established without destroying what is essential to Christianity. As a Polish priest once said: "As Christians we have the obligation of contributing to the construction of a socialist state so long as we are allowed to adore God as we wish."

"The Colombian clergy certainly is not guilty of being Communist. Communism is a philosophical system incompatible with Christianity, although in their socioeconomic aspirations the majority of Communists hold precepts not opposed to the Christian faith."

"Why do we Catholics fight the communists - the people with whom it is said we have most antagonism - over the question of whether the soul is mortal or is immortal instead of agreeing that hunger is indeed mortal? Certainly, we Catholics who ourselves want the church to be poor are not going to fight with those who are against a rich church."

"(What’s your assessment of Aristide?) ED: That’s a tricky one. My view still is that he was voted in power. I can’t really gauge how much change there’s been since 1990. I know he has his supporters and detractors. I will quote Brecht: “I’m on the side of the people.” Whatever the people decide about him, I will follow. Life’s hard in Haiti right now. And the hardest thing is that the future does not lie with one person. A lot of the focus is often put on him. He can’t save Haiti. No one individual can. He can’t pull the strings and make everything better. It all becomes a personality cult: Can one person save Haiti? (I sense your reticence in talking about Aristide.) ED: I do have trouble talking about him because I just don’t know. I can’t read the situation very well. I can’t say, like some do, that he’s all bad, or like some other people, that he’s all good."

"What will 2004 look like to them? I see for them a country with 85% literacy, rather than 85% illiteracy. Cooperatives flourish in villages and in the informal sectors of the cities. Water is flowing through the fields of the countryside-where food enough for all of Haiti's people is growing. Creole pigs are seen more and more in the countryside, the descendents of those few that the peasants hid away and saved from extermination. Seedlings are beginning to take root on the mountainsides. The seedlings have a chance at survival because the people are no longer in misery, but are already on the road to poverty with dignity. There are primary schools and health clinics in every municipality of Haiti. The schoolbooks are not just half-price-they are free, in accordance with Article 32.1 of our constitution which promises a free education to every Haitian child. The children and young people are actively engaged in the changes sweeping their country. Radyo Timoun can be heard throughout the country, and people begin to feel it is normal for children to have a voice in national issues. The bayakou and the bouretye still labor, but the weight of social exclusion has been lifted. The restaveks are eating at the table with everyone else. This is our challenge for the new century; this is the challenge of 2004. We assume it. We are living it right now."

"one thing is certain, to get there we will have to take risks. We will have to assume them. And to assume risks requires faith If you cannot cross the visible to what you cannot yet see, you will be stuck in doubts, pessimism, and defeatism. Faith arms you to believe and to assume risks."

"You and I together, fingers of the same hand, are called to build a more human world in this new century, to bring the thumb and the little finger closer together, so the hand may be strong and whole. I am certain that we can and that we will."

"since 1990, in both elections and in huge popular demonstrations, Haitians have expressed their desire to be led by Jean-Bertrand Aristide – a sensible, conscientious humanitarian, and democratic reformer and a supporter of the liberation theology movement. He has been overthrown as leader and exiled twice by pro-US local elites because the US fears his influence might initiate a regional domino effect; this explains why Aristide continues to be demeaned by conservative sources in the US."

"What appealed to me regarding Thoutmès, as well as Aristide, was his effort to challenge fate. People always thought that Haitian Blacks had no access to political power, that they could not voice their opinion in the government of their country. For once, a president, Aristide, came to power and said, "Fok sa changé!" "This must change!"...Aristide does not interest me at all as an individual. But he also represents this: a fragile little man who comes with a revolutionary discourse. He loses and has to go into exile, but he doesn't acknowledge defeat. He tries in vain to come back.... This is a symbol that appeals to me in a literary sense."

"Aristide is a pivotal political and religious figure in the history of the world."

"Through this letter we would like to open a window for you, a window through which you may see something that touches your own life."

"On behalf of the Haitian people, I extend again our profound gratitude to all of our friends outside Haiti who have supported our struggle through the years, and particularly to all of those who mobilized, pressured and worked to make the restoration of democracy in 1994 a reality."

"When I see my people there is a question that always arises. How can they survive with so little? How do they create hope where there is no hope? How do they create a way where there is no way? This way that the poor are creating, where there is apparently no way, is what we call the third way."

"(What do you think people can do in the United States?) JBA: I think they can continue to mobilize human resources to help bring peace for Haiti—democracy for Haiti. This is what the Haitian people want: Peace and democracy."

"I will continue to believe that we must invest in human beings. We must invest in education and health care. This is what will bring peace. Because peace is not an empty word. It has to be full. Investing in education and health care, bring the real peace to the country, and what they call peace is not the real peace. It is violence. It is kidnapping. What we call peace through education is telling the world that we are right."

"The people write to me with the hope that I can solve their problems. But since neither the problems nor the solutions begin and end in Haiti, I feel I should forward some of the contents outside of Haiti."

"Part of this challenge involves dramatically changing global spending priorities, which are so grotesquely skewed. It is estimated that only 10% of development aid goes towards meeting primary human needs (education, health care, clean water, and sanitation). This amount represents less than what the industrialized world spends on athletic shoes each year. It would take six billion dollars a year, for three years, in addition to what is already spent, to put every child in the world in school. Does this seem like a lot? It represents less than 1% of world military spending."

"The US continued to prevent Aristide from returning for the next seven years. Just last week, President Barack Obama called South African President Jacob Zuma to express "deep concerns" about Aristide's potential return, and to pressure Zuma to block the trip. Zuma, to his credit, ignored the warning. US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks reveal a concerted drive, over years, to hamper the return of Aristide to Haiti, including diplomatically punishing any country that helped Aristide, including threatening to block a UN security council seat for South Africa. After landing in Port-au-Prince, Aristide wasted no time. He addressed the people of Haiti from the airport. His remarks touched on a key point of the current elections there: that his political party, the most popular party in Haiti, Fanmi Lavalas, is banned, excluded from the elections. He said: "The problem is exclusion, and the solution is inclusion. The exclusion of Fanmi Lavalas is the exclusion of the majority … because everybody is a person." Looking out on the country he hadn't seen in seven years, he concluded: "Haiti, Haiti, the further I am from you, the less I breathe. Haiti, I love you, and I will love you always. Always.""

"What we have learned in one long year of mourning after Haiti's earthquake is that an exogenous plan of reconstruction – one that is profit-driven, exclusionary, conceived of and implemented by non-Haitians – cannot reconstruct Haiti. It is the solemn obligation of all Haitians to join in the reconstruction and to have a voice in the direction of the nation."

"As I have not ceased to say since 29 February 2004, from exile in Central Africa, Jamaica and now South Africa, I will return to Haiti to the field I know best and love: education. We can only agree with the words of the great Nelson Mandela, that indeed education is a powerful weapon for changing the world."

"I didn’t leave Haiti because I wanted to leave Haiti. They forced me to leave Haiti. It was a kidnapping, which they call coup d’etat or [inaudible] …forced resignation for me. It wasn’t a resignation. It was a kidnapping and under the cover of coup d’etat...I did not resign. I exchanged words through conversations, we exchanged notes. I gave a written note before I went to the press at the time. And instead of taking me where they said they were taking me in front of the Haitian press, the foreign press, to talk to the people, to explain what is going on, to call for peace. They used that note as a letter of resignation, and I say, they are lying...We talked with them somehow in a nice, diplomatic way to avoid bloodshed, we played the best we could in a respectful way, in a legal and diplomatic way. Because they that told me that they were going to have bloodshed. Thousands of people were going to be killed, including myself. As I said, it was not for me, because I never cared about me, my life, my security. First of all, I care about the security and lives of other people. I was elected to protect the life of every single citizen. So, that night I did my best to avoid bloodshed and when they took me, putting me in their plane, that was their plan. My strategy was then all I could [do] to avoid bloodshed."

"The couple were married at Mr. Aristide's modest home -- he has refused to live in the presidential palace -- in a ceremony attended by about 500 family members, friends and foreign dignitaries, including American military officers and Anthony Lake, President Clinton's national security adviser. The couple exchanged vows at a table in the garden, the A.P. reported. The bride wore a simple coral-colored suit, the groom a dark blue one. The simplicity was reflected by the lack of a bridal gown or a bouquet; there was not even a wedding cake."

"...one of the morally transcendent leaders of our time."

"We have to swear 70 times 7 times that never, never, never, will one drop of blood fall in Haiti...We all want peace. Let all weapons be silent. To all of those who question their dreams, remember Oct. 15. To all of those who are discouraged in the pursuit of their dreams, remember Oct. 15.""

"The exceptional resilience demonstrated by the Haitian people during and after the deadly earthquake reflects the intelligence and determination of parents, especially mothers, to keep their children alive and to give them a better future, and the eagerness of youth to learn – all this despite economic challenges, social barriers, political crisis, and psychological trauma. Even though their basic needs have increased exponentially, their readiness to learn is manifest. This natural thirst for education is the foundation for a successful learning process: what is freely learned is best learned. Of course, learning is strengthened and solidified when it occurs in a safe, secure and normal environment. Hence our responsibility to promote social cohesion, democratic growth, sustainable development, self-determination; in short, the goals set forth for this new millennium. All of which represent steps towards a return to a better environment."

"What do we mean, meaning democracy. What do we mean, we need to invest in human beings. Therefore, to go back, we should not send wrong signals as they did. They went to Iraq. We see how is the situation in Iraq. They went to Haiti. We see how is the situation in Haiti. Pretending they are imposing democracy with people killing people. Why don’t they change their approach to let democracy and the constitutional order flourish slowly, but surely. After imposing a criminal embargo on us being, from the cultural point of view, very rich from a historic point of view very rich but from an economic point of view, very poor because we are the poorest country in the western hemisphere, after imposing their economic embargo upon us, because the people wanted one man, one vote, so equality among us. Then they use drug dealers, they use people who are already convicted, pretending to lead the rebellion, while they went to Haiti killing people in Gonaives, killing people in Cap Hatian and killing people in Port-au-Prince and elsewhere. And now they continue in the face of the entire world, blessing impunity supporting those killers. My god, I have said it’s really ugly that image they project in the face of the world. Now it’s time for them to change, to respect them but we will also respect the truth. That’s why respectfully, we are telling them the truth. I said, when someone is wrong, the wrong way to behave is to continue to be wrong. The right way to behave is a move from wrong to being right. Now, it’s time to move from being wrong on their side to become right by supporting the constitutional order."

"(Do you still consider yourself President of Haiti?) JBA: Yes, because the people voted for me. They are still fighting in a peaceful way for their elected President. I cannot betray them. That’s why I do my best to respect their will...(Do you want to return immediately to Haiti?) A: If I can go today, I would go today. If it’s tomorrow, tomorrow. Whenever time comes, I will say yes, because my people, they elected me."

"I say it, and I say it again, the Haitian people are a non-violent people. They voted for democracy. They will continue to fight in a peaceful way for democracy, and I will continue to be faithful to them doing the same. The peaceful approach, fighting peacefully for the restoration of the constitutional order."

"a historic figure in a historic land.""