Le sens de la marche méditative

J'ai écrit ce petit texte en collaboration avec Gérard Laverdure et après notre marche méditative aujourd'hui.

     Depuis le 19 novembre, chaque samedi, vers midi, plusieurs personnes se réunissent autour de La Place du Peuple (Square Victoria) à Montréal pour amorcer une marche méditative en silence pour la paix. Cette marche se réalise quelques minutes avant l’assemblée générale du mouvement des Indigné(e)s et se voit comme un effort de créer une ambiance de non-violence, d’écoute et de respect pour l’assemblée et pour tout le mouvement. Notre présence silencieuse et déterminée démontre à nos concitoyens l’enracinement spirituel de l’indignation, de la soif de justice, d’intégrité, de dignité et de paix. Protester contre les injustices et s’engager à changer le désordre social est une démarche profondément spirituelle. La pratique de marcher en silence a une longue histoire qui se retrouve dans plusieurs contextes. Chacune de ces références peut nous aider à comprendre mieux le sens de notre marche méditative.

     Commençons en rappelant que les moines et les moniales ont une longue pratique de marcher lentement en file pendant qu’ils prient ou méditent. Ceux et celles qui ont vécu la vie monastique avant 1960 se souviendront de ces marches «à la file indienne» à la fin de l’après-midi pour prier le rosaire. Il y a quelque chose dans la marche même qui aide à la concentration, à une meilleure présence consciente au moment de prière.

     Ce sont les bouddhistes qui ont d’avantage analysé cette expérience. Thich Nhat Hanh a écrit un beau petit livre, entre autres, qui s’appelle La Sérénité de l'instant. Paix et joie à chaque pas. Il fait appel à la marche de pleine conscience. On marche lentement, prêtant attention à chaque étape du mouvement. Ce n’est pas un moment pour oublier rien de la réalité intérieure ou extérieure sinon plutôt pour s’ouvrir à sa plénitude – la plénitude du moment présent. Le passé n’existe pas, le futur n’existe pas. Nous vivons le moment présent dans la plénitude de tout son contexte intérieur et extérieur. En arrivant à cette pleine conscience, la compassion surgit dans notre cœur et nous invite à découvrir comment répondre à ce moment précieux qui nous est donné. La pratique de la marche en pleine conscience devient un apprentissage pour vivre présent au moment actuel pendant toute notre vie, toujours en pleine ouverture à la réalité et aussi pleinement à l’écoute, ouvert à la compassion et prêt à agir avec compassion, c’est-à-dire de façon non-violent.

     Quand on se tourne vers les Écritures chrétiennes, on trouve que le mot le plus fréquemment utilisé pour caractériser les disciples de Jésus, c’est le mot : vigilant. Très souvent Jésus invite ses disciples à être vigilants, attentifs au moment présent. C’est dans ce moment présent qu’il nous invite à y trouver le Royaume de son Père, thème principal de sa prédication. Le Royaume de Dieu n’est pas dans le passé, ni dans le future. Il ne faut pas aller loin pour la trouver parce que c’est en nous et entre nous qu’il se déploie, se construit. Il est toujours présent parmi nous. Qui n’est pas attentif, manquera le moment du Royaume de Dieu, manquera l’arrivée de la plénitude.

     Les Anishnabe, peuple autochtone de notre région, voient leur histoire comme une longue marche ver l’ouest. Pour pouvoir continuer la marche et pour ne pas mourir, il y a des gens chez eux qui sont désigné des porteurs du feu. Le feu est absolument nécessaire pour la survie du peuple. Donc les porteurs du feu ont une responsabilité énorme pour s’assurer que le peuple arrivera au bout de sa marche. Nous retrouvons aussi ce concept chez les Juifs et les Chrétiens : la Terre promise. Terre atteinte au bout de la traversée solidaire d’un long désert.

     Peut-être ces petits références vous aideront à trouver le sens de notre petite activité chaque samedi midi à la Place du Peuple en préparation pour l’assemblée générale – surtout pour un mouvement qui se déclare formellement non-violent et qui annonce, en citant Gandhi, qu’il faut être le changement qu’on veut engendrer.   

Returning the Gaze

     In my last entry I spoke of returning the gaze of those who find themselves in situations of exclusion or oppression. That profound gazing into the eyes (and heart) of the excluded is a wake-up call to discover the profound dimensions of our human existence, what I would call the divine dimension since in fact it is a bottomless well from which one can draw enormous strength and meaning.

      There is however also another and very classic version of the theme of “returning the gaze” that is perhaps even more important. Years ago, when I visited Chiapas, that largely indigenous State in southern Mexico with its long, long history of colonization, the indigenous people always looked down when addressing or being addressed by non-native people. Looking up would have been interpreted as insolence. Part of the pastoral work in the diocese at that time included that of insisting that the indigenous people look directly into the eyes of the non-natives who addressed them.  That included the foreign priests and nuns. In some way one could say that this simple change was part of the origin of the Zapatista movement. That the oppressed and excluded return the gaze of the oppressor is an important gesture, one that speaks loudly and clearly of their dignity, the respect they deserve, the equality they claim. Returning the gaze is in fact a challenge, the insolence of asking for transformation in the heart and in the relationship between oppressed and oppressor. Returning the gaze is a way of demanding that the oppressor “look” deeper.

   A Buddhist riddle asks when one would be able to determine the difference between night and the coming of daylight. After several attempts by the disciples, the master finally suggests that it is when one can recognise that the other is one’s sister or brother. It is then that the day has some.

Do We Really Listen?

     For the past five years I have volunteered at a “listening centre” where people can call (or come) to talk about whatever is on their mind. We receive calls from people suffering from domestic problems, mental health difficulties, problems of addiction, loneliness, joblessness, in a state of panic or depression. The list is long and the calls are many. We spend hundreds of hours every year just listening. Our training is along the lines developed by Carl Rogers’ “active listening.” Active listening means paying attention to the person who is speaking, welcoming their presence and their story, without judgement or advice, counsel or orientation, respecting that they will, as they speak, eventually find the path they need to follow. We thank them at the end for speaking without offering them advice or orientation. We say very little except to encourage them to speak. Often, at the end of a session, the person who called or visited will conclude by saying that they feel much better and will express gratitude for the attentive welcome they have received.
     One of the important features of active listening is that one has to draw close to someone in order to hear them. We have to “displace” ourselves and move into the place of the other. Unless there is some sort of proximity (not physical necessarily), there is no possibility of listening.
     For me, all this connects with my interest in liberation theology, which begins by listening to what people are living, to what is happening in society. Without a listening ear, somewhere, we become non-persons, alone and disconnected. Our joys and our sufferings are unheard. We serve only to move the machinery of the economy; apart from that, we might as well be non-existent.  Far too often, this is the experience of the 99% who spend their days either working themselves to death for a pittance that barely provides for their basic needs, or perhaps not even that, or who are literally set aside entirely and live off hand-outs, unknown and unheard by those who have more than enough.    
     One of the interesting dynamics of the “occupy” movement is to attempt to listen to everyone’s opinion and to learn from it. First of all, it is pretty much impossible to participate in the movement without being physically present at their activities. To participate, we have to “displace” and on many levels.
     In an assembly, even one person can block a decision if it does against his or her profound values. The person presenting a proposition will have to go back and re-work it. Dialogue is essential. When a proposition is complex, the assembly divides into smaller groups for discussion. There is usually a “talking stick” that is passed around to give every person a chance to have their say without having to fight to get into the conversation. People are listened to carefully; their intervention is appreciated and pondered. Nothing serious will go far if there is no consensus.
     Try sometime, during a day, to watch how often you are more energized about sharing your point of view or your feeling than about listening to that of others. Watch how often people’s point of view or feelings go unacknowledged in conversations or how people are cut off because someone has something they consider more important to say. We are not a society that goes out of its way to listen, especially to those who are not “significant” or who do not have ready access to contexts where they can share easily.
     It is not hard to make a leap to the larger scale. More than half of the world’s population lives in conditions that do not allow their voice and their needs to be heard by those who have cornered the means to live in excessive comfort. While the press, radio and television blare out their messages twenty-four hours of every day, the message they send is geared basically to encourage us to become nameless, mindless consumers of things we really do not need or even want. In between, there are some rather half-hearted attempts at informing. Mark Twain is quoted as saying that if you do not read the newspaper, you are uninformed; But, if you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed. The media are not there to listen or even to inform. They are there to orient – to consumption of commercial products. Today, it is their principal reason for existence.
     The internet and the social media were invented to provide a medium so that everyone could have a voice – that is, if you could afford a computer or an iPod.  The commercial interests have done everything possible to turn them into a space for encouraging more spending on commercial goods. To some extent they have succeeded, though it remains an extremely significant means of communication between people. As a result, billions of dollars are now being invested in surveillance of this dangerous phenomenon of people communicating with one another.
     All this, it seems to me, reveals the disjunction between the way our economic structures work and what ordinary people really want and hope for. We are faced with fundamental options about how to live our lives.   

Experience of God?

Yesterday evening, a small group of people, mostly young and some significantly older, gathered in a small café in my neighbourhood to discuss the events of the Occupy Montreal movement. We talked about what has been going on there—downtown—and about the reality of poverty and exclusion in our own neighbourhood. We asked ourselves what this meant for us, whether the movement had something also to say to us. We asked whether we also, in our own neighbourhood, should not find some way to “occupy.”  We don’t know what that means or how it could happen but, we asked the question and we decided to come back to it—soon.

Saturday, some of us will go down to the Occupy site, along with people from around the city. We will form a human chain around the site and spend a half-hour in silence meditating on peace, peace for the people at the site, peace for the movement, peace in all they struggle for.  Afterwards, we hope to be able to return regularly. We do it as an act of solidarity; we do it also to transform our own “positioning” in the world. We do it in order to say something to society but without words, in pointing to others and the “word” of their lives, of their engagement.

For me all this is connected to a question that has haunted me for decades: the question of God.

Europeans have said: How can we continue to believe in God after the Holocaust?  Latin Americans have asked how they can believe in God during the repression suffered during the 70s and 80s. Today we might well ask how we can believe in God while living under the totalitarian global capitalism of today? The fact is, many don’t. 

Living in Peru during the 1980s, I sometimes asked myself if God were not absent from the violence-torn country?  It was very difficult for me to find the presence of God in the midst of crushing poverty, death-dealing illness, severe repression, tens of thousands of assassinated and disappeared.  Yet there is something central about the notion of God’s presence in the suffering and in the death.

At one point, I have been told, Ivan Illych was giving a talk in a large auditorium, not long before his death. During the question period, someone asked him how he managed to avoid despair in situations of the major repression and violence, which, at that time, engulfed all of Latin America. There was a very long silence, then he called to a colleague, who was seated nearby, to come up beside him. He put his arm around him and replied “a friend.” 

That’s not a very theological answer but in practice it opens an important path to deal with the question of God. Today, it has become extremely difficult to talk about God. God is hidden and silent. Theology has become bankrupt largely. However, and I would underline this, the urgency, even the imperative of speaking to God is paramount. We have a desperate need to speak to a God we do not understand, and probably never will. We cry out our horror, our anguish, our longing, our desperation in the face of the world as we find it. It is the very depth of our being that cries out and, it seems, that is where, finally, God “appears,” silently, without words, without solution, right in the cry itself. We need to stay with the cry itself, our cry. Not a scream, out of control, but a cry that mobilizes all the energy within us.  

In liberation theology, the first step indicated was the call to make a choice, to take up a different position – physically. We had to move out of our everyday, normal environment in order to go to the place where the poor, the excluded, the repressed, the non-persons were and to plunk ourselves down in their reality. (Even the poor had to make the choice since they were often trying desperately to get out of that reality!)

It seems to me that something similar is still very necessary, at least for those of us who are privileged not to live in misery. We have to choose to immerse ourselves in the reality where God is absent and does not speak, where God is silent, where the easy discourse of theology and homiletics is muted. If we choose to move, it seems to me that what happens is that God also chooses to move, to accompany our move. God still remains the silent Other, but that Other becomes located in the non-persons who, because we are there, cast their gaze upon us, a very disturbing gaze, a profoundly questioning gaze. And it is in the profound depths of the silence that underlies their gaze that we are challenged. It is then, I believe, that we experience God, not seated on a lofty throne governing the universe, not ruling over the cosmos, not defeating the embattled armies of evil, but rather dwelling deep in the gaze of those others, those non-persons. The silence of God is an experience that calls to us nevertheless. For out of God’s silence, we are empowered to cry out and to mobilizes our forces. It is a cry that transforms since it is rooted in God’s silence. It seems to me the issue is not so much the experience of God finally as it is the question of God, or perhaps better said, our questioning of God! And that questioning is itself the experience.   

Official Occupy Wall Street Declaration

(Image by Cerezo Barredo)

     Yesterday I visited Occupy Montreal once again. During the general assembly they addressed three questions (while I was there at least): How to deal with people who repeatedly violate the accords taken. One option was to eject them. The assembly decided they would study more how to accompany them non-violently and asked professionals to offer their time to help. They also looked at the question of people too shy to speak in public at an assembly and decided to use a system of the "talking stick" in small groups to assure them a safe place to speak out. Finally they dealt with the question of solidarity with other occupations suffering repression. In each case they dealt with the issue sensitively, caringly, openly. Good government!
   Next Saturday there are plans for a half-hour inter-faith peace meditation chain surrounding the site. People from all traditions are being contacted.

     Gérard Laverdure sends me the folloiwng link for the official declaration the Occupy Wall Street. It speaks volumes about what this movement is all about. First, here is the link: Occupy Wall Street.

Secondly, here is the text found there:

Declaration of the Occupation of New York City

As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.
As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.
They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.
They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.
They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one's skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.
They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.
They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless nonhuman animals, and actively hide these practices.
They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.
They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.
They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers’ healthcare and pay.
They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.
They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.
They have sold our privacy as a commodity.
They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.
They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.
They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.
They have donated large sums of money to politicians supposed to be regulating them.
They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.
They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantive profit.
They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.
They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.
They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.
They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.
They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.
They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts. *
To the people of the world,
We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.
Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.
To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.
Join us and make your voices heard!
*These grievances are not all-inclusive.

Moving into Winter mode

Forgive me if I am a bit fixated on the Occupy Montreal movement at this point. The fact is that this is a phenomenon that is forging a new history.

Just for your information: The village--400 people certainly makes a village--is facing nights that drop to the freezing point.  The first indication of a move to prepare for winter--in Montreal that can mean temperatures dropping to twenty below zero (Celcius)--was the appearance of a yurt. Now the call is for trucks to bring in the long wooden poles that will be used to put up teepees.. The arrival on the site  of Mohawks from a local reserve in order to set up their traditional living structures marks a new chapter in the history of the movement here. To me it is extremely significant and symbolic. Secondly, since the refusal of the city to allow an electrical connection, There is a good chance that those who want to stay for the winter will have all that is needed: warm, safe, housing and a steady supply of good food.
Now there is a daily workshop on economics for those interested. Those at the village are deepening their understanding of the issues of inequity in democracy and in economy. This is a movement that drives at the achilles heel of the Empire.
There are also groups springing up here and there around the city. They meet to discuss the issues raised by the 99% movement. As one commentator said: If this movement can leap the boundaries of class, race and generation, it will change things radically. The people at the village today are well along the way.

99% - Everywhere

Since Google does not give the same information everywhere, and for those who want to go a little further in understanding the "We are the 99%" movement--we call ourselves the "Indigné(e)s" in Montreal-- here are a couple of sites about the wider movement:

http://occupywallst.org/ (The New York occupation)

http://www.occupytogether.org/ (info about the movement in general)

http://www.occupytogether.org/directory/ (A listing of 200 occupations throughout the USA and elsewhere)

The 1% is getting nervous and beging to make preparations to eliminate these occupations. That will problably only broaden the struggle.

This is a movement that is certainly going to change as it grows. No one really knows what turns it will take -- But, one thing is sure: it has already inspired huge numbers of people throughout the world and has already made a significant difference in several countries.

A world march is being planned for Saturday October 29. Millions can be expected to turn out.

More on the 99%

Celebration

General Assembly

It is now more than a week since the 99% invaded Square Victoria in the heart of Montreal and established the People's Square. They began with a few tents and a great desire to build another world that is possible, one very different from that of the 1%. The "village has now grown large in every sense. There are more than 200 tents -- it was necessary to occupy additional space to accomodate all the tents and more space may still be required. There is a kitchen that serves two meals a day, a small library and daily general assemblies where direct democracy is both very real and  inclusive. There is even a large tent marked "hospital" with at least one bed and qualified personnel. The relationship with the city and with the police continues to be good. They are learning from those who have expericence, to prepare for "winter camping" with a view to staying throughout the bitterly cold months ahead. There are signs everywhere reminding people to be clean, non-violent and inclusive. Next Saturday there will be a march in solidarity with all the other groups around the world who are expressing the voice of the 99%. Thousands are expected. What I have seen of the media in Montreal is fairly positive. The community has excellent media capacity: a really good web site (http://occupymontreal.tk/), a facebook site, a forum site, and so on.

Shared Kitchen

I speak of all this because it leads me into a reflection on liberation theology. If liberation theology was initially "invented" to attempt to discern the presence and path of God's liberating Spirit in the struggle of the excluded "non-persons" of society, then the experience of the camps, like the one in Montreal and others around the world, is certainly an irruption of the poor (the 99%) into the social, economic and political scene of 2011. This irruption deserves profound reflection. When I am on the site, when I witness the general assemblies, when I see their initiatives to build community, when I hear them struggling to express the values and directions they want to move in, there is no doubt in my mind that the Spirit is at work here building something radically new, something that draws deeply on our faith traditions. It is a phenomenon that will mark history and that builds on the struggles of many other peoples in many other places -- today and in the past.

Theology is a very pretentious word: it claims to engage in discerning and interpreting the path of liberation in the here and now. In the past liberation theology  tried to give "voice to the voiceless." Theology no longer needs to do that.  The voiceless have found their own voice and are giving powerful expression to their own path. There is no need for philosphers, theologians or social scientists to help them analyze the current situation; those on site in the camps are extremely articulate and connected to those analyses. There is perhaps not even  a need to provide a word of support and hope since the artists among them (musicians, poets, graphic artists) are providing a powerful cultural expression of the vision that animates and directs their presence. While I am not advocating "slogan" theology, there is nevertheless much for a theologian to reflect on in the signs displayed in downtown Montreal . There is also much to be reflected on in the way the camp functions, in the way decisions are made, in the way food is shared, in the way people are welcomed, in the way the "word" in honoured.

At this point it seems to me that what theologians need to do is to be PRESENT. This is one of those times when the theologians (and other professional religious folk) need to physically displace themselves in order to grasp the situation. We need to go there, spend time there. Theologians need to become the defenders of this movement for those sectors of the wider society who practice what the religious institutions dictate. There are broad sectors of the Churches that are sympathetic to what is happening in these camps but who have very little access to know how to understand it. While the people in the camp are doing a wonderful job, it is up to those of us who are close to the movement to make sure that the message gets through to our circles. Those circles can be crucial to the future of the movement. If we truly believe that this is an expression of God's Spirit

in our world today, in 2011, then we surely need to reflect deeply on the ways in which this phenomenon embodies our tradtion and make absolutely sure that the religious sector (at the base and in the hierarchy) understand and support it. It is what liberation theology has attempted to do for more than forty years. We cannot do less today. If the religions of the world get behind this, it is clearly unstoppable.

(All the pictures are taken from the Occupy Montreal web site. The credits are given there.)

David Suzuki interviewed at Occupy Montreal: 

http://youtu.be/rUTDxUicSmo

Michael Stone at Occupy Montreal : Taking Care of Yourself

http://vimeo.com/31007476 

Michael runs the Centre of Gravity in Montreal.

Les Indignés

     So the movement to occupy the public squares and demand change has finally come to North America and Europe. The turn-out yesterday was remarkable: More than a thousand cities around the world. The institutions are listening carefully, not so much to make major changes but rather to adjust the structure to accomodate the level of protest and to give the impression that something positive is happening. Meanwhile, at the stock exchanges and in government, it is still business as usual. The level of response would have to be much greater for anything significant to happen. Perhasp the movement will grow. That certainly was the case in Tunisia, in Egypt, in Yemen and in Syria, to mention only a few examples. Gradually there is an awakening.  However the dynamics are not the same here as in the South.      In any case, there are hundreds of people camped out in public parks in hundreds of cities around the world. As the slogan goes here in MontreaL the 99% is telling the 1% that thjey have awakened.
It will be an exceptional time to talk about things like participatory democracy and an ecological  economy on a human scale.
      This could be an important awakening. And, like all history, it could also be just a bubble.  That depends on all of us. 
A powerfull comment on the movement in the USA :  http://front.moveon.org/the-most-powerful-occupywallstreet-clip-you-will-see-this-month/#.TpttX9PHbS5.facebook

The Montreal occupaton  is going well. Visit their site on facebook: Occupons Montréal

Liberation Theology - Peru in the 1980s

This video provides an excellent view of the context within which liberation theology developed. It is also the context in which I lived daily during the 1980s. Many of the people, events, places in the video were and are well known to me. Viewing it was like turning the pages of a personal photo album. (21 minutes)
(I still haven't figured out to embed videos. However, the link works.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPQGFSBGYQo&feature=player_embedded

Latin American Agenda 2012

The 2012 English edition of the Global  Latin American Agenda is now ready.

Please address requests to
Dunamis Publishers, 6295, rue Alma, Montréal, QC, H2W 2W2, Canada.

$20 in Canada*
$23 elsewhere*

* includes mailing

Please make checks payable to Dunamis Publishers

...

Introductory note by Bishop Pedro Casaldáliga:

The liberating phrase, the Good Life [el Buen Vivir] in the Andean translation called Sumak Kawsay, comes forward to greet us as a Gospel of

Life that is possible and dignified for all persons and all peoples. It is the Good News of  the Good Life  in face of the bad life of the immense majority and which confronts that insulting and blasphemous “

good life” [la buena vida] led by a minority that is trying to be the only
group allowed into the common house of humanity.

The Agenda proclaims the “Good Life-Good Life Together because we cannot imagine a good quality of human life without a good co-existence among humans. We are relationship, sociability, communion, love. It is abundantly clear that a good personal life also has to be communitarian; but it is better to bring it out explicitly so as not to fall into assumptions that don’t pay attention to what we need to understand and embrace vitally, radically. I am myself and also the whole of humanity. There are two problems and two solutions: other people and myself. This cannot just be “taken for granted;” we need to shout it aloud.

CIMI, the Indigenous Missionary Council of Brazil, in its Week of Indigenous Peoples 2011, launched a three-part document of conscientization and commitment to the Indigenous Cause with its theme: “Life for All and for Always.” They then added: “Mother Earth cries out for
the Good Life .”


CIMI in Brazil defines it this way: “The concept of the Good Life goes in the opposite direction of a model for development that considers the Earth and Nature to be consumer products... It is a system of life set against capitalism, because this latter has become a model of death and exploitation...We need to think about  the Good Life  as a system for a viable life, taking into account the historical dimension and the possibilities that it offers for the future. To bring this about, we need to consider the Good Life  as an alternative to the capitalist model, creating a historical memory by taking life and hope into account, precisely not from the perspective of the conquerors,” but rather always and radically
from the perspective of the life, hopes, lamentation and blood of those who have been conquered. “In order to practice the Good Life  we need to listen to what those who struggle each day for a more fraternal and just world have to say.”

Professor Dávalos says that “social movements, and especially the Indigenous movement, have proposed a new paradigm of living and living together that is not based on development or the idea of growth but rather on different concepts such as of conviviality, respect for nature, solidarity,

 reciprocity, complementarity.”

CIMI’s document calls for “life for all and for always.”
It is the “always” that walks with the anxiety and hope of mortal humanity throughout history. We cannot think about living well without simultaneously considering dying well. Death is the last great particularity of life, the ultimate verse of the sonnet. If there is no response to death, there is no response to life. By being grateful for and by drawing on everything that philosophy and science can offer by way of “quality of life,” we make a definitive call to hope. Good Death-Good Life.

Jesus of Nazareth, prophet of the great Utopia (”Be good as God is good, Love as God loved us, Give your life for those you love”) proclaimed with his life and death and with his victory over death, the Sumak Kawsay of God’s Reign. Jesus is, in his own person, a lasting and universal paradigm of  the Good Life,  the Good Life Together and the Good Death.

La théologie de la libération aujourd'hui

 Pierre Collet a eu l'amabilité de traduire—et même perfectionner !—ma réflexion sur la théologie de libération et le faire publier dans le no. 28 du Bulletin de P.A.V.É.S. Je suis très reconnaissant parce à Pierre et au P.A.V.É.S.

Cette réflexion est inspirée par l’expérience du Forum Mondial Théologie

et Libération où plus de 100 personnes ont passé six jours à tenter d’étudier les défis pour l’avenir d’une authentique théologie de la libération. Ce n’est pas un résumé ou un rapport. D’autres le feront, j’espère. Ce que je veux faire, c’est présenter une approche très simple de ce qu’est la théologie de la libération en 2011 et un ou deux défis qui lui sont proposés. Pour pouvoir avancer, nous devons garder un oeil sur le futur et l’autre sur le chemin déjà accompli. Ma présentation n’est pas scolaire : comme d’habitude, j’écris en tant que personne engagée.

Si vous avez fait de la théologie il y a longtemps, vous vous rappellerez que l’approche classique de la théologie partait d’un rapport à la doctrine (ou même au dogme) qui se basait sur des documents de l’église et se référait ensuite aux sources bibliques. Selon ce schéma, on pouvait spéculer sur la façon de comprendre et d’appliquer la doctrine à notre époque. La philosophie fournissait l’outil pour cette deuxième opération “spéculative”. La théologie de libération apportait une différence fondamentale dans la manière de faire de la théologie. Tout d’abord, le focus se déplaçait sur la réalité socio-économico-politico-culturelle de notre temps avec l’objectif de ceux qui étaient économiquement pauvres, socialement rejetés et finalement des non-personnes dans la société. C’était la célèbre option pour les pauvres. C’était une option parce qu’elle n’était pas neutre et ne

prétendait pas analyser la société ou la religion dans une perspective neutre et objective. Elle se ralliait à la lutte des pauvres pour une vie décente, la dignité et le respect. Elle n’excluait personne justement parce qu’elle  concernait tous les exclus. Elle voulait une société dans laquelle chacun – et non seulement ceux qui ont la richesse, la puissance et l’influence – ait sa place dans la dignité et le respect. En raison de cette option pour les pauvres, la priorité de l’analyse a été donnée, non pas tellement à la philosophie, mais à ce que pouvaient offrir les sciences sociales : la sociologie, les sciences politiques, les sciences économiques,

l’anthropologie, etc. D’ailleurs cette référence n’intervenait pas à la fin du processus, après avoir établi la doctrine, elle venait au début.

Voir

Le modèle méthodologique de la théologie de libération est enraciné dans les principes de l’action catholique : Voir, juger agir. C’était une nouveauté significative dans la méthodologie théologique. Nous ne commencions pas par des documents d’église ou par l’écriture sainte. Tout d’abord, nous voulions regarder (voir) la société pour voir ce qui s’y passait, pour identifier ceux qui étaient l’objet de notre attention, les pauvres, et plus tard le peuple autochtone, les femmes, les homosexuels etc. Bien plus que

comme des objets, nous voyions comment ils étaient des sujets, des agents de leur propre libération. Nous avons essayé de comprendre la dynamique qui était et est toujours à l’oeuvre pour les soumettre à l’oppression ou les libérer, pour leur donner une place nouvelle dans une nouvelle société. (Rappelez-vous que Gustavo Gutierrez a défini la lutte de l’Amérique latine non pas comme une lutte pour le développement mais plutôt pour la libération de l’oppression. C’était un rapport sociologique, pas

philosophique ni doctrinal.) Il faut redire ici que la première étape dans la libération ou la théologie de

libération ne consiste pas dans une réaffirmation de ce que disent la bible ou les documents officiels de l’église, mais de ce que nous apprenons en regardant soigneusement le monde autour de nous avec les outils que nous offrent les sciences sociales.

Juger

C’est seulement alors que nous passons à la seconde étape qui consiste à “juger”. C’est une étape cruciale et qui n’est pas toujours bien comprise. Dans beaucoup d’exemples de la théologie de libération, ce serait le moment de se tourner vers les sources scripturaires et vers l’enseignement de l’église. Dans certains cas c’est approprié. Mais dans la pratique, et même si ce n’est pas explicitement indiqué, le critère final pour juger la situation des pauvres et des exclus était le principe même de la vie et de l’amour (la

solidarité). Dans la partie appelée “juger”, nous tentio ns de trouver où la vie était menacée ou détruite, où l’amour était trahi ou nourri, et nous effectuions notre jugement sur cette base. Ceci signifiait que nous

cherchions dans l’écriture sainte et dans l’enseignement de l’église les éléments et les perspectives qui pourraient nous aider à comprendre comment nourrir la vie et aimer (solidarité), pour trouver le chemin à suivre. Nous ne choisissions pas nos documents d’écriture sainte ou d’église au petit bonheur. Il y avait un critère fondamental à la base de notre recherche : si cette référence pouvait nourrir la vie des pauvres et des exclus et leur amour, alors nous l’adoptions. Et nous ne prêtions aucune attention aux doctrines, aux perspectives ou aux textes qui s’opposaient à la vie ou à l'amour (solidarité). Mais nous étions souvent tellement sûrs que la bible était une parole de vie et que la mission de l'église était de nourrir la vie, que nous les prenions pour argent comptant. Je souligne ce point parce qu’aujourd'hui nous devons prêter beaucoup d’attention à cette distinction : non, toute religion n’est pas libératrice, tout dans la bible n’est pas

libérateur, toutes les interprétations de nos traditions religieuses ne sont pas libératrices. La théologie de la libération jette un regard très critique sur la religion et ses traditions.

Agir

Enfin, il y a le troisième moment méthodologique : “agir”. La théologie de la libération est un outil pour l’engagement, pour une foi engagée dans le monde et au service de la transformation du monde vers cet “autre monde possible” que la bible appelle le “Royaume de Dieu”. Une théologie de la libération est une théologie en acte. Ce n’est pas suffisant et peut-être aujourd’hui pas très aisé de citer des textes de l’écriture sainte ou de Jésus. Une théologie de la libération, c’est une théologie qui ne prêche pas Jésus mais plutôt la mission et les valeurs et la “cause” de Jésus. Jésus a très peu parlé de lui-même ; il a passé beaucoup de temps à parler du Royaume de Dieu et à faire ce qui pourrait apporter ce Royaume dans la vie des pauvres et des exclus autour de lui. La théologie de la libération, dans sa phase d’ “action” concerne toutes les stratégies à mettre en place pour rendre la vie, la justice, l’amour, la solidarité plus présents dans notre monde. Qu’elle fasse référence ou non aux expressions comme le “Royaume de Dieu”. Ce qui est important n’est pas d’annoncer l’évangile mais de le faire “vivre” dans la vie des gens. Pour cette raison, dans sa phase d’action, la théologie de libération peut fonctionner à l’intérieur ou en dehors du cadre religieux. L’action est basée sur le “juger” et ce jugement, cohérent avec l’évangile, est valable aussi au delà de l’évangile.

Tout ceci me conduit à parler maintenant de quelques nouvelles tendances dans la théologie de la libération. J’ai essayé de décrire la théologie de libération de telle façon que nous puissions appréhender plus facilement ces tendances ou défis.

Le défi du pluralisme

Tout d’abord, et pas simplement en Amérique latine mais sur tous les continents, il y a un appel puissant à utiliser la théologie de libération pour soutenir la réalité du pluralisme et la diversité dans nos sociétés. Une partie de cette diversité est culturelle ou fondée sur le genre et une partie est également religieuse. Les sciences sociales nous apprennent que c’est un phénomène important et assez nouveau dans beaucoup de sociétés et que cela concerne le cadre même de notre coexistence sur la planète. Cela a conduit les théologiens de la libération en Amérique latine à revoir leur regard sur la manière avec laquelle le peuple autochtone et afro-américain a été traité après la conquête espagnole. On a d’abord commencé par

reconnaître que leurs cultures avaient été marginalisées, parfois ridiculisées et souvent éliminées. Un décalage important était nécessaire pour accepter et accompagner les gens dans la réappropriation et l’expression de leurs cultures traditionnelles. Une percée s’est produite quand les indigènes et les

afro-américains se sont emparés de cette lutte pour eux-mêmes. À ce moment, les théologiens de libération ont dû faire leur examen de conscience et s’enquérir également de ce qui était arrivé à la religion quand

les conquérants espagnols sont arrivés. Ils se sont rendus compte que, si l’Amérique latine avait été colonisée, les religions traditionnelles l’avaient été également. Parallèlement à la décolonisation de l’Amérique latine, de l’Afrique et de l’Asie, il faut une décolonisation de la religion. Aujourd’hui

les théologiens s’intéressent sérieusement à cette question.
Pourtant, c’est une question qui va beaucoup plus loin puisqu’elle a mené des théologiens à regarder ce que les anthropologues et les sociologues, sans compter les spécialistes en sciences politiques, avaient dit des

indigènes, des africains, des asiatiques sur les autres continents. Bien plus, nos grandes métropoles nord-américaines et européennes vivent aujourd’hui avec la présence de peuples dont la tradition religieuse n’est

pas du tout celle de notre christianisme occidental. Ils sont musulmans, hindous, bouddhistes, ou athées. Comment allons-nous parler d’eux ?

Certains d’entre eux se trouvent assez isolés, marginalisés et même opprimés dans les sociétés qui les ont reçus en tant qu’immigrés. Plus encore, quand nous regardons les relations entre les pays, nous voyons qu’il y a ceux qui sont “dedans” (les membres de l’OCDE par exemple) et d’autres qui sont tout à fait marginaux (le groupe des 77 par exemple). Nous devons revenir à notre “voir, juger, agir” afin de le retravailler. Nous avons besoin d’une théologie de la libération du pluralisme politique, économique, culturel, et même laïc. Certaines de nos sociétés sont bien embarrassées à tenter de faire des choix : c’est un grand défi pour les théologiens de la libération aujourd’hui.

Le défi planétaire de l’écologie

Il y a un deuxième grand défi pour la théologie de la libération aujourd’hui, celui de développer “une théologie planétaire ”. Ceux qui étaient au Forum Mondial Théologie et Libération savent que ce sujet a été quelque peu négligé et n’a pas obtenu une grande audience chez beaucoup des théologiens présents. C’est comme ça. Je suis l’un de ses défenseurs et je prévois que ce sera un deuxième grand bond en avant de la théologie de la libération. Il y a déjà un certain nombre de théologiens qui travaillent dur

là-dessus. Cette idée d’une “théologie planétaire” doit aussi être comprise avec l’approche du “voir, juger, agir”. L’option pour les pauvres et les exclus demeure. Dans ce cas-ci, le cadre s’est élargi. C’est la vie de la planète elle -même qui est menacée, marginalisée, mise à mal. D’une part, c’est une théologie qui commence à intégrer la perspective écologique, une éco-théologie qui inclut toutes les créatures vivantes, toute la planète et ses composants : mer, air, terre. Cela fait partie du “voir”. Mais les analyses qui précèdent ne sont pas exclues non plus. La vie humaine est toujours une partie de la vie sur notre planète, mais a besoin d’une analyse qui la replace dans son vrai contexte : celui de la planète. Nous sommes des créatures de la terre et nous dépendons d’elle. Nous ne nous comprenons pas complètement si nous sortons de ce contexte. Notre origine est dans l’évolution de la planète et notre destin est inextricablement lié à celui de la planète. Ceci nous mènera à faire notre analyse sociale -culturelle - économique-politique dans un contexte beaucoup plus large et avec beaucoup plus de précision, en gardant toujours à l’esprit l’option pour les pauvres. Nous avons besoin d’une relecture du “voir”. Nous avons besoin également d’une relecture du « juger » parce que ce n’est pas simplement la vie humaine et son bien-être qui est le critère du jugement, mais celui de la planète entière et de tous ses composants. À la base de ceci, il y a la conviction que la “vie” dont nous parlons est celle du tout aussi bien que de ses parties. Ceci rend le travail d’analyse et de discernement beaucoup plus difficile, complexe et sensible. Mais qui a dit que c’était censé être facile ?

L’ “action” également est transformée par notre discernement (jugement) puisque nous devons développer les stratégies qui produisent vraiment “la vie pour tous”. Nous avons besoin de relire nos traditions religieuses, leurs écritures saintes et doctrines dans la lumière globale d’une conscience planétaire qui exige “la vie pour tous” sans exclusions et dans l’attention à ceux qui sont actuellement mis à l’écart. C’est un énorme défi qui se trouve devant nous : rien moins que la transformation du monde, la transformation de notre propre conscience, la transformation de nos sociétés et finalement, la transformation de notre

planète en péril.

Au départ de nos réflexions au Forum Mondial Théologie et Libération, il y avait ce défi, vu selon des perspectives très différentes. Ce que nous réalisons, c’est qu’il touche le désir le plus profond de notre coeur et de notre esprit pour un monde meilleur, pas simplement pour nous-mêmes, mais particulièrement pour ceux qui ont souffert trop longtemps de notre manque d’attention et de sensibilité.

Je reviens au Québec, plus que jamais convaincu qu’il y a une tâche importante devant nous, que nous pouvons commencer maintenant et qui nous mènera loin dans le futur où l’Esprit nous attend.

Richard RENSHAW

traduction : P. Collet