The Church and Politics in Chile: Challenges to Modern Catholicism

by Brian H. Smith

Overview

Clarifying the growing role of the Latin American Catholic Church as an agent of social change, Brian H. Smith discusses the prophetic function of the Chilean Church during the country's metamorphosis from Conservative to Christian Democratic to Marxist to repressive military regime.

Originally published in 1982.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691614434
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	07/14/2014
Series:	Princeton Legacy Library , #602
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	7.10(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.90(d)

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The Church and Politics in Chile

Challenges to Modern Catholicism

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By Brian H. Smith

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS

Copyright © 1982 Princeton University Press
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-691-10119-4

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CHAPTER 1

Changes and Challenges in Post-Vatican II Catholicism

Classical theories on the role of religion in Western society elaborated in late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by Spencer, Durkheim, Marx, Weber, and Malinowski all concluded that religion, while sometimes a revolutionary element, is normally a conservative force in the process of social change. The Roman Catholic Church at the time these theories were being articulated provided much evidence to justify their conclusion. Since the sixteenth century, the Church had fought against the erosion of its spiritual and temporal power precipitated by the Reformation, the Enlightenment, the French and Industrial Revolutions, Marxism, and the emergence of the secular nation-state. Catholicism opposed values underlying these movements such as individualism, freedom of conscience, democracy, human rights, and revolutionary change as being antithetical to its own belief system. In turn, those identified with these modern currents of thought sought to reduce the Church's influence in the secular realm in order to promote their objectives. In the post-Reformation period, therefore, the Church strengthened its vertical hierarchical structures in order to preserve orthodoxy, and established closer alliances with conservative social and political forces.

In recent years, however, the Roman Church has announced a series of official changes affecting both its stance toward secular developments as well as the style of performing its pastoral mission in the modern world. The Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) committed the Church to an active role in the promotion of justice, human rights, and freedom, urging all Catholics to share the "joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are in any way afflicted." An international synod of bishops meeting in Rome in 1971 made even more explicit the connection between religious faith and social justice, arguing the "action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world" are "constitutive dimensions of the preaching of the Gospel."

Traditional Catholic social principles, once an obstacle to change in emerging capitalist economies, when they were identified with corporatist ideologies, now appear to be more compatible with various socialist models of development. Recent papal encyclicals have reformulated Catholic values of corporate solidarity, the primacy of the common good, and the principle of subsidiarity to legitimize major structural innovations such as restriction on economic competition, state planning and ownership of crucial resources, worker participation in management, and guaranteed price supports for raw materials on the international market.

A much less polemical tone in judgments of Marxism has emerged in recent statements of popes recognizing various "levels of expression" in its ideology and permitting Catholic cooperation in movements based on false philosophical teachings "for the attainment of some practical end which was formerly deemed inopportune." Communism and Catholicism continue to differ in their fundamental conceptions about human nature and social relationships, but since the 1960s there have been initiatives taken on both sides for authentic dialogue.

There has also been a decline in official Church reliance on organized political support and partisan alliances. Vatican II officially set aside the longstanding Catholic tradition of the desirability of the union between Church and state, stating that the Church "does not lodge her hope in privileges conferred by civil authority." The Council stressed, however, the responsibility of the Church to "pass moral judgments, even on matters touching the political order, whenever basic personal rights or the salvation of souls make such judgments necessary." Many bishops in Latin America, Asia, and Africa since the end of the Council have exercised this prophetic role vigorously, denouncing political disappearances, torture, economic exploitation, and racism perpetrated by authoritarian regimes in their countries.

The endorsement of a more independent and prophetic role for the Church in secular society has been accompanied by greater differentiation and decentralization of its internal structures of control. Vatican II acknowledged the legitimacy of religious liberty, the sacredness of conscience, collegiality in the exercise of episcopal authority, and voice for the laity in pastoral responsibilities. Since the close of the Council, various episcopal conferences around the world have begun to implement these values, thus making national churches more sensitive to rank-and-file demands and problems.

Hence, since the mid-1960s, major transformations in official Catholic positions have provided the opportunity for greater integration of religious and secular values and have shifted the moral weight of the Church away from legitimizing the status quo toward an increased promotion of equity and freedom. These pronouncements not only call for a new style of religious mission, but also influence the social, economic, and political choices of the Church's membership, who constitute approximately one-sixth of the world's population. Linking action for justice with attainment of religious salvation could generate powerful motivational forces influencing the social, economic, and political choice of the Church's formal membership. Its transnational capacities rival those of its major secular counterparts — the United Nations, the multinational corporations, and the Communist Party — in its ability to move personnel and resources across national borders to develop or strengthen its local affiliates in areas where they are weak or under attack. Its commitment to protect human rights and the interests of the powerless is needed now more than ever to promote a moral framework and vision in contemporary international society.

The profile of the Church, therefore, is quite different than the one that characterized it when classical theories on religion and social change were elaborated over fifty years ago. Catholic values and structures are no longer seen to be as hostile to the modern world as they once were, and there is evidence that the Church could become an important conduit for change if new official directives are put into action throughout its international network.

ISSUES FACING THE POST-VATICAN II CHURCH

As exciting as are the consequences that could result from these announced changes for both Church and world, the nature and purpose of the Church raise questions about how effectively these new orientations can be realized. It is the oldest institution in the West and has traditionally absorbed changes cautiously and slowly. Furthermore, its primary religious mission for centuries has been carried out in conflict with some major secular values and movements in the modern world. How quickly and consistently can its multilayered and long-established bureaucracy respond to the challenges of Vatican II and other official pronouncements? Will new social commitments, although officially endorsed as now integral to the pastoral mission of the Church, be given the same priority as religious concerns by leaders at different levels of the institution? Can values of freedom and participation be reconciled with hierarchical patterns of authority? These are hard questions that must be answered before an adequate assessment can be made of the impact announced changes can have on the Church's values and structures.

The voluntary nature of allegiances and varying degrees of commitment among its members also present serious problems for effectively reshaping the attitudes and choices of Catholics. The Church's formal membership of nearly 700 million baptized is multifaceted with a wide spectrum of loyalties ranging from saints, regular participants, irregularly practicing, and nominal members — all of whom differ in identification with the Church and in obedience to its teachings. How readily are Catholics accepting the social thrust of recent Church documents? Are there wide differences of interpretation as well as commitment among different social classes of Catholics? Is the Church capable of generating support for these values among members whose present social and economic interests are most threatened by them? All of these questions are related to the fundamental problem of developing adequate motivational resources throughout the Church to effect a new integration of religious and social commitments at a time when traditional disciplinary methods are being deemphasized.

Aside from these problems that relate to the extent and impact of announced changes inside the Church, it also faces difficult challenges in reorienting its posture in society at large. The organizational outreach of the Church is considerable, giving it unique capacities for transmitting values and resources but also setting parameters on its choices. Restructuring its bases for pastoral and social action throughout the world will be affected by the social and political forces that prevail in each national context. How will the transnational operations of the Church in its efforts to act as a catalyst for change intersect with preoccupations of national sovereignty and security in various nation-states? Can it effectively disengage itself from traditional structural alliances with governments or conservative forces in several parts of the world? What are the political conditions as well as consequences for both Church and society of attempts to use its resources to change the distribution of power among social groups? Can the Church be an effective prophetic force in authoritarian regimes or Marxist-dominated societies without serious curtailment of its freedom? These are some of the crucial questions that must be faced by leaders of the Church at the national and international levels if they are resolutely committed to promoting equity and justice in various nations of the contemporary world.

Each of these series of questions facing the post-Vatican II Church pertains to such traditional strengths as its longevity, diverse membership, and institutional outreach. Yet these very strengths also involve inherent difficulties for realizing changes that are effective and at the same time in continuity with its historical mission. Deeper theoretical problems are also involved in these questions which relate to the larger issue of how change occurs in a complex traditional organization.

The Church is a multilayered organization whose traditional religious mission affects the range of development permissible within it. It is committed to the preservation and transmission of certain truths which, for it, cannot change. Its structured relationships between leaders and followers, although flexible, cannot be radically altered without serious repercussions for orthodoxy and institutional continuity. Certain action patterns acceptable in secular institutions — e.g., decision-making by consensus, reliance on democratic procedures — if overemphasized in the Church could weaken hierarchical authority and threaten core dogmas. These characteristics related to performing its religious mission place definite limits, therefore, on the extent of change acceptable in the norms, structures, and behavior within the Church.

Its new commitments to social justice are consequently hortatory in nature and formulated in general categories meant to be in continuity with basic religious values. They legitimize some alternatives that as of yet have not been developed sufficiently to predict the practical consequences for traditional priorities. In some cases there may be lags in implementation due to bureaucratic inertia or to the lack of new educational processes to internalize them among the members. In other instances they may be interpreted and specified by lower elites and by rank-and-file members in ways not intended by the top leadership. This could challenge or undermine official beliefs or practices.

It remains to be seen to what extent new value orientations can be institutionalized in the Church effectively enough to precipitate major changes in attitudes and behavior of Catholics but without causing serious disruptions of traditional religious priorities. If the Church's commitment to new norms remains unfocused and unenforced, their influence on attitudes and behavior of both elites and various types of members will be erratic and diffuse. Conversely, if decentralization of responsibility and greater emphases on social action lead to consequences perceived by leaders as threatening to the integrity and purpose of the institution, serious conflicts and internal divisions could emerge, as well as a pullback at the top from the pursuit of some of the objectives endorsed in recent papal, conciliar, and episcopal documents. The resolution of this basic predicament will determine how the Church continues to fulfill its traditional religious mission in an age of transition, and will also determine its consistency as a force for social justice.

The Church also faces serious theoretical challenges as it attempts to carry out a new role in secular society. Rome and regional episcopal bodies can legitimize a politically and economically progressive stance for the universal Church, but each national subunit encounters particular opportunities as well as dilemmas in its own national context.

The symbolic moral authority of the Church will be shaped by how its messages relate to the dominant values in each country. If its new social emphases are compatible with the ideology underlying public policies, it could offer supportive reinforcement for the humanistic concerns of that society. The more specifically the leaders of a national church articulate these new norms, the more focused the Church's moral impact will be. The greater will be the danger, however, of associating the Church with very contingent economic or political policies that are beyond its competence. Moreover, in systems whose public norms do not legitimate equity, distributive justice, and participation, the prophetic voice of church leaders could have minimal impact. It could also precipitate serious ideological conflicts with the state that might result in restrictions on the Church's religious activities.

The institutional impact of the Church in each society will depend upon the new alliances it forges with other organizations in its environment. These interactions can both enhance and limit its capacities to influence that society. The closer it associates with secular institutions espousing similar economic or political goals, the more resources it can draw upon, the more allies it has in pursuing its objectives, and the more carriers it has for its own social messages. Yet, the closer religious and secular institutional alliances are forced, the greater will be the divisiveness of religion in pluralistic societies, and the more compromised the Church becomes, thus threatening its independence and moral credibility.

Overlapping memberships that Catholics have in other institutions provide perhaps the most important conduit for Church teachings into civil society. If the pattern of behavior required by their secular commitments or interests, however, is in contradiction to that demanded by the Church, serious crosspressures result. This could lead to alienation of laity from the Church or to their marginalization in other organizations. Either situation diminishes the Church's capacity to influence the larger social system through its membership.

Hence, there are internal predicaments for a complex organization such as the Roman Church when it attempts to modernize while preserving very traditional beliefs and structures. Simultaneously it faces added dilemmas as it attempts through its various national subunits to perform a progressive function in economic and political development without undermining its perennial and primary religious mission.

In order to assess the range of possibilities for resolving some of these predicaments, more probing of the normative, structural, and behavioral dynamics of change within the Church and their relationships with various social systems needs to be done. Most of the literature to date has tended to focus on only one level or aspect of analysis. Major religious works published over the past decade have concentrated on the doctrinal innovations of papal, conciliar, or episcopal statements since the mid-1960s, or have elaborated various models for how the Church could or should act as a result of some new developments in theology. As important as these contributions are, they frequently fail to come to terms with the organizational weight of the institution, to what extent structures are actually evolving, and where there are practical limits on their flexibility. They also lack sufficient empirical methodology to determine if and how Catholic attitudes and behavior are changing in different national contexts.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from The Church and Politics in Chile by Brian H. Smith. Copyright © 1982 Princeton University Press. Excerpted by permission of PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS.
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Table of Contents

• FrontMatter, pg. i
• Contents, pg. vii
• Tables, pg. ix
• Preface, pg. xi
• Part I. Ideological and Institutional Dynamics of the Roman Catholic Church, pg. 1
• Part II. The Church and Socioeconomic Reform, pg. 65
• Part III. Christian-Marxist Rapprochement, pg. 163
• Part IV. The Prophetic Role of the Church under Authoritarianism, pg. 281
• Selected Bibliography, pg. 357
• Index, pg. 377