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The Role of the Catholic Church in Colombian Social Development Post World War Ii

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The Role of the Catholic Church in Colombian Social Development Post World War Ii THE ROLE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN COLOMBIAN SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT POST WORLD WAR II By JESSICA JOY GONZALEZ A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2007 1 © 2007 Jessica Gonzalez 2 To my parents, Jorge and Helen. Thank you for you love, support and strength. To my Aunts Mary and Martha. Thank you for your love and encouragement 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my supervisory committee chair, Dr. Anna Peterson, for her support, guidance and encouragement throughout the writing process and the numerous topic changes. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Charles Wood and Dr. Phillip Williams for their support and flexibility. All three members of my committee reflect the commitment to intelligent dialogue that made my University of Florida education an exciting and memorable experience. I would like to thank my family for their unwavering support and constant companionship. I would like to especially thank my mother for encouraging me to pursue my master’s degree and my dreams. Without her guidance I would not be where I am today. I would like to thank my father for being my silent strength and always waiting with open arms. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................4 ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................................7 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................8 Research Question ..................................................................................................................10 Objectives ...............................................................................................................................11 Literature Review ...................................................................................................................13 Significance ............................................................................................................................20 2 THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND POST WORLD WAR II POLITICS.............................22 The End of World War II and the Build up to Vatican II.......................................................22 La Violencia............................................................................................................................24 Dictatorship, Violence and Social Construction.....................................................................27 Uncomfortable Peace..............................................................................................................30 Drugs, Guerillas and Religion ................................................................................................33 Conclusion ..............................................................................................................................36 3 THE COLOMBIAN CHURCH FROM POPE JOHN XXIII TO PUEBLA..........................38 A Preferential Option for the Poor..........................................................................................38 The Second Vatican Council and Pope John XXIII ...............................................................40 Pope John XXIII and the Church’s Acknowledgement of Poverty ................................40 The Second Vatican Council and Gaudium et Spes........................................................46 The Latin American Episcopal Conference in Medellín ........................................................48 The Documents of Medellín............................................................................................48 Why the Urgency.............................................................................................................52 Diocesan Development in Action...........................................................................................54 The Diocese of Facatativá ...............................................................................................54 The Cali Project...............................................................................................................59 Puebla and an Unlikely Retreat ..............................................................................................62 4 CATHOLIC REBELS AND GRASSROOTS MOVEMENTS .............................................66 Rebels in Cassocks .................................................................................................................67 Camilo Torres..................................................................................................................68 Golconda and SAL ..........................................................................................................70 The Jesuits and Colombia................................................................................................72 Catholic Based Non-Profit Organizations ..............................................................................75 5 Catholic Charismatic Renewal - Working within the Boundaries of the Catholic Hierarchy.............................................................................................................................81 The Catholic Charismatic Renewal.................................................................................81 El Minuto de Dios ...........................................................................................................83 Working Outside the Church Walls........................................................................................85 5 CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................87 Colombia Today .....................................................................................................................88 Final Thoughts........................................................................................................................91 Future Research...............................................................................................................92 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................93 LIST OF REFERENCES...............................................................................................................95 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .........................................................................................................99 6 Abstract of Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts THE ROLE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN COLOMBIAN SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT POST WORLD WAR II By Jessica Joy Gonzalez August 2007 Chair: Anna Peterson Major: Latin American Studies The Colombian Catholic Church has been known since the colonial time period to be highly conservative and has always sided with the conservative political party. With the meeting of the Latin American Episcopal Conference (CELAM) in Medellín, liberal thinkers began to write and promote social development activity. In Colombia during 1960’s there were examples of priests and organizations that spoke out against the social order, but the examples of a move to the left in the Colombian Catholic Church were few and often fought against by the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. The research question that I pose is how did Vatican II affect the Catholic Church in Colombia? And how has the Catholic Church aided in Social development since Vatican II? The hypotheses put forth are that although there have been moves by certain orders and members of the Catholic Church to progress to the left, overall the hierarchy in the country has kept the Catholic Church predominantly conservative and made social development through the Catholic Church difficult. The interact ties between Church and State in Colombia cannot be ignored when researching the religious history and progression of the nation. It helped immensely to be resident in Colombia and gain a basic understanding of not only the history but also the people and their culture. 7 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION When I started my thesis research in the summer of 2006 I had decided to research education in Colombia. Yet, after living in Colombia for six weeks I realized that education was not my true passion. Every Sunday I attended mass at a Catholic Church with my host family and looked around the church to see who attended. While in Bogota we attended a church in a middle class neighborhood where all the parishioners came from the same financial and social background. Outside of the church a man waited every Sunday for handouts. After several weeks in Bogotá I moved to the more rural area of Duitama which is in the department (equivalent to a state) of Boyacá. Here the church was more diverse. People came from all different social backgrounds and parts of the city. Driving through either of these cities there were definite class divisions. The shanty towns that surrounded Bogotá backed up onto wealthy gated communities. While I was in Cartagena, the major tourist destination in Colombia, I also found it interesting that while visiting the monastery of La Popa, that the priests had posted signs asking that tourists not give money to the children
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