Paul Farmer's Liberation Theology

J ust weeks ago, during a February visit to Mexico, Pope Francis gave a Mass at Ecatepec, a slum outside of Mexico City. The teaching he delivered condemned a society â??for the few, by the few,â? and preached increased concern for the poor. By now, those ideas have become a familiar part of the popeâ??s repertoire. His 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si, noted â??how inseparable the bond is be­tween concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society, and interior peace.â? Theyâ??re also a part of the papal embrace of liberation theology, a once-scorned philosophy that entwines Catholic spirituality with class politics. Some 400,000 people prayed with the pope in Ecatepecâ??a fervor that rivals the one that swept the U.S. last autumn, when the pontiff came here. But few American Catholics have taken up the banner of liberation theology.