A experiência de uma igreja comprometida com os pobres: a influência da teologia da libertação na diocese de Chapecó

Abstract

The present study seeks to understand the influence that the Liberation Theology has exercised in the practices of the church in the Diocese of Chapecó. To this end, we discussed the aspects of liberation theology in Latin America and how it was translated in the Diocese of Chapecó before the historical context in the period between the years 1970 and 2000. Methodologically the study was developed from semi-structured interviews, allowing the seizure of the practices of the Diocese from the discourse of people who participated or participate in this Church. The discourse analysis was supported in the workbooks produced by the Diocese of Chapecó. The research evidences the existence of a Church committed to the poor, aligned with the Theology of Liberation, in the 1970s and 1980s. However, from the 1990s, several changes social and ecclesial occur and the Diocese of Chapecó ceases to be a Church committed to the poor, resisting only in memory of some persons present within the Diocese.