Some Latin American politicians grounded in Catholic social teaching

Published: 2008-05-05

LIMA, Peru (CNS) -- After Latin America's bishops established their "preferential option for the poor" in a conference in Medellin, Colombia, in 1968, the church became a training ground for active Catholics throughout the region. Although some were involved with leftist movements that fought rightist governments in the 1970s and 1980s, more and more Catholics are gaining political clout at the ballot box. The rise of presidents who are controversial in some circles but who campaigned on platforms of fighting poverty and social inequality -- such as Evo Morales in Bolivia, Rafael Correa in Ecuador, and most recently retired Bishop Fernando Lugo in Paraguay -- is putting Catholic activists in many government offices. "The liberation movement had a tremendous impact on the Catholic left in Latin America and was very influential," said Jesuit Father Thomas Reese, a senior research fellow at Georgetown University's Woodstock Theological Center in Washington. "Catholic social teaching has always been pro-poor," Father Reese said. Many people who are now involved in politics "got their feet wet in the Catholic Church. They learned political skills there."

Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .