Latin America and the Caribbean have been a region of the world marked by violence since the conquest phase in the 15th and 16th centuries. The systems of oppression established by the European invaders laid the foundations for inequality, exploitation, repression and resistance, which continue to exist in many places, particularly at regional and local level. The Catholic Church was involved in the emerging structures from the very beginning, providing the religious legitimization of the conquest on the one hand and seeking to close ranks with the powerful in practice on the other. The seminar, which took place in Mülheim an der Ruhr from 26 to 29 November 2024 with 22 participants from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Peru and under the direction of Dr. Thomas Krüggeler, therefore focused on the relationship between violence and the Catholic Church in Latin America's past and present.
Prof. Dr. Pedro Guibovich from the Catholic University in Lima (Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú) outlined (digitally connected) early colonial debates on whether African slaves and indigenous people had a soul (and were therefore human beings) or not and insisted on assessing such disputes in their historical context. Under the pressure of economic and political interests, attempts to legally safeguard the theological content of missionary work were often relegated to the background.
Other contributions focused on the problem of violence and the church's attitude towards it in specific contexts. Dr. Federico Tavelli, a church historian from Argentina (Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), impressively demonstrated that the Argentinian clergy was initially trapped in the typical way of thinking during the military dictatorship (1976-1983) and that the church's primary goal had to be to combat everything "communist". Bishops and priests were slow to learn that human rights must not be subordinated to state terror. He also presented the audience with the three-volume work "La verdad los hará libres" ("the truth will set you free"), which he co-edited and which was published in Argentina in 2023. Based on studies in the Vatican archives, the volumes attempt to reappraise the role of the Church during the Cold War and the military dictatorship in Argentina.
Equally noteworthy were five presentations by participants, which presented the dilemma of the church and violence in the present at a high level of reflection. Two presentations showed how deeply drug production and trafficking have permeated popular religiosity in Colombia and Mexico: for example, individual priests were prepared to cooperate with "narcos" (donating real estate and church buildings) and social projects run by drug traffickers are highly valued by the population.
Finally, the participants addressed the issue of violence in liberation theology. There is no doubt that priests have actively joined guerrilla movements since the 1960s (not only the well-known Colombian priest Camilo Torres), but the presentations showed a very complex picture of the topic. There are different types of violence, some of which are more reprehensible than others. Even in the case of justified resistance to oppression, the goal must be non-violence ("no-violencia como fin").
A joint church service, celebrated by Father Prof. Dr. Thomas Eggensperger OP, spiritual advisor of the KAAD, and musically prepared and supported by the scholarship holders, as well as an expert guided tour of the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex and a visit to the Essen Christmas market rounded off an intensive and lively seminar.
