Vatican criticizes Sobrino, liberation theologian
Two books by Jesuit Fr. Jon Sobrino of El Salvador, a leading proponent of liberation theology, contain statements “either erroneous or dangerous,” says the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. One of the major issues was his treatment of the divinity of Christ in his understanding of the theology of the incarnation. Sobrino's work was under investigation for several years while the current pope was still head of CDF. Opus Dei Archbishop Fernando Saenz Lacalle of San Salvador, where Sobrino resides and teaches, swiftly announced that the Vatican would forbid Sobrino to teach. So far that has not happened. Sobrino wrote the worldwide head of the Jesuits that he would not accept the Vatican's judgment because it misrepresents his theology. Also, to yield to a 30-year Vatican campaign of defamation against liberation theology will not help the poor or the church of the poor.
Sobrino, 69, has taught for years at the Jesuit-run Central American University. He escaped being murdered with his fellow Jesuits in November 1989 because he was on a speaking tour in Thailand.