Despite their value, the
media also have the power to distract us, writes Latin American theologian, Brazilian
Sister of Our Lady Ivone Gebara. They lull our minds and keep us from allowing
needed critical questions to surface. In the days leading up to the papal
election, many in Brazil and
around the world, she writes, were “hijacked” by live broadcasts from Rome Vatican
interests make it so willing to offer facilities for these transmissions?
"These questions, which
may not interest the wider public, continue to be significant for groups
concerned over the growth of consciousness among ourselves and all of humanity.
In large measure, she goes on, the telecommunication industry is responsible
for maintaining the secrecy surrounding Vatican
electoral policies. Secrecy, oaths, and the consequent sanctions when they are
not respected are an integral part of the industry. They create an impact and
make headlines. But this isn’t about a centuries-old tradition that will have
no real impact on the rest of the world. Rather, these are behaviors that end
up derailing the pursuit of dialogue among groups, or excluding some groups
from the necessary dialogue.
There is no criticism of this
perverse system, which continues to invoke the Holy Spirit in order to maintain
ultraconservative positions clothed in the pretext of religiosity and docile
submission. Official coverage allots no space for dissonant voices to be heard
(even at the risk of being stoned). Once in a while, light criticism is allowed
to surface, but it is quickly drowned out by the “status quo” imposed by the
prevailing ideology."
Gebara is one of Latin America ’s
leading theologians. She writes from the perspective of ecofeminism and
liberation theology. For nearly two decades Gebara has been a professor at the
Theological Institute of Recife
"New pope and geopolitics of secrecy"
Mar.
18, 2013
Full
text of Brazilian Theologian Sr. Ivone Gebara
Now that the initial shock of Buenos Aires Cardinal Bergoglio's election and the thrill of having a Latin American pope who is both cordial and friendly are over, it’s time for some reflection.
There is no criticism of this
perverse system, which continues to invoke the Holy Spirit in order to maintain
ultraconservative positions clothed in the pretext of religiosity and docile
submission. Official coverage allots no space for dissonant voices to be heard
(even at the risk of being stoned). Once in a while, light criticism is allowed
to surface, but it is quickly drowned out by the “status quo” imposed by the
prevailing ideology
They repeat that Pope Francis
uses public transportation, that he is close to the poor, that he cooks his own
meals and that the name he has chosen as pope shows his similarity to the great
saint of Assisi Argentina
The image of a kindly and
modest figure just elected by a group of cardinals assisted by the Holy Spirit
veils the reality of a man who in fact embodies numerous contradictions. More
recently the Brazilian newspapers (Folha de Sao Paulo, Estado de Sao Paulo)
have offered differing profiles of the new pope that give us a more realistic
idea of who he is.
In this light it becomes
clear that his election was, beyond doubt, part of a geopolitical offensive
involving competing interests and a balance of forces within the Catholic
world. An article by Julio C. Gambina published via Internet March 13 in
Argenpress, as well as information coming in from alternative groups in
Nicaragua, Venezuela, Brazil and especially Argentina have confirmed my
suspicions. The See of Peter and the Vatican
State
If something new is happening
politically in the South, there’s nothing better than a Pope from the South, a
Latin American, to confront this new political movement and preserve intact the
traditions of family and property. Such an affirmation undoubtedly dumps cold
water on this election's charm and on the thrill of seeing the multitude in the
St Peter’s square breaking into applause and joyful cheers when the figure of
Pope Francis appears. Many will say this criticism dampens the beauty of such
an emotional event as the election of a pope. Perhaps, but I believe this
critique is necessary.
The highly touted commitment
to evangelization as a Church priority seems instead to be a commitment to a
hierarchical order in a world where the elites reign and the people applaud in
great plazas, where they pray and sing and bubble over with high spirits,
invoking divine blessings upon the heads of their new political-religious
leaders.
The same doctrine, with
little variation, continues to be preached. There is no reflection, no
awakening of consciousness, no invitation to critical thinking. What is
invoked, instead, is a set of quasi-magical teachings. On the one hand, we have
a society awash with great spectacles that captivate us and urge us to accept
-- with a dose of romanticism -- the restraints imposed by the contemporary
system of order/disorder, and on the other a system of paternalistic handouts
that is equated with evangelization.
To go out into the streets
and give food to the poor and pray with prisoners is somewhat humanitarian, but
it does not solve the problem of social exclusion that afflicts many of the
world’s countries.
To write about “the
geopolitics of secrecy” in a moment of media euphoria amounts to spoiling the
party for the buyers and sellers in the Temple, content with stalls filled with
Rosaries, scapulars, bottles of holy water and the large and small statues of
many saints. The problem is that if we break the secret and pull the plug on
the allure of white smoke, we deflate the suspense of a secret conclave that
denies the Catholic people access to the information to which we have a
right—and lay bare those purple-clothed bodies with their sordid histories.
To break open this secrecy is
to give the lie to the political and religious system that governs the Roman
Catholic Church. It is to tear off the masks upholding it, and in this way to
open our hearts to real independence and responsibility for us all. Power games
are filled with cunning and deception, but there is also good faith. We are
capable of being impressed with a public gesture of affection and friendliness
without asking ourselves about this person's real life story. We don’t ask
ourselves about his past actions, his present behavior or his future
stratagems. The moment the amiable figure dressed in white appeared was enough
to impress us. We can be deeply touched by the new pope’s warm greeting, “Buona
sera” (“Good evening”), and then go to bed like well-behaved children blessed
by a kind daddy. We are no longer orphans--since being fatherless in a
patriarchal society is intolerable, even for a few days.
We are complicit in upholding
these shadowy powers, which charm and oppress us at the same time. We
ourselves—especially those of us who have more insight into these political and
religious processes—are responsible for the delusions these powers foist on the
lives of millions of people, especially those communicated through the
religious media. We ourselves can become so enthralled that we forget the power
games, the unseen manipulation and the cultivated theatrics so crucial for
these occasions.
We cannot make predictions
about the future direction of the Roman Catholic Church’s governance. But at
first glance it seems that we can’t hope for great change in its current structures
or policies. Significant change will come if Catholic Christian communities
take concrete action in deciding the direction in which Christianity will move.
If, that is, based on their own life needs, they are capable of saying how the
Gospel of Jesus can be expressed and lived in our lives today.
The geopolitics of secrecy
has huge interests to defend. It is part of a global power project in which the
forces of order are seen as being threatened by the social and cultural
revolutions underway in today’s world. To uphold the secret is to justify the
belief that in history there are powers superior to the life-force--and that
they are more decisive than the progress being made in our collective struggles
for dignity, bread, justice and mercy in the midst of the many troubles and
reversals that assault us along the way.
I end this short reflection
with the hope that we will not allow the light of freedom living within us to
go out, that we will continue to drink from the fountains of our dreams of dignity
and clarity, without being much impressed by these seemingly novel occurrences.
After all, it’s just one more Pope who has signed his name to an institution
that, despite its history of ups and downs, deserves to be transformed and
re-imagined for these times. Change can always occur, and we need to be open to
the small signs of hope that continually pop up all around us, even in our
world's most anachronistic institutions.
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