ROME, MAY 9, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Latin America has the task of promoting just conditions for life, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope said this today to reporters during his flight from Rome to Brazil, when asked about liberation theology, which had triggered movements in Latin America.
The Holy Father said that there is space for "a legitimate debate on how to create conditions for human liberation."
Benedict XVI continued: "With the change of the political situation there has also been a profound change in liberation theology, and it is obvious that the changes that promised immediate and easy solutions for a more just life were wrong.
"Everyone knows this. Now the question is about the Church's role in the struggle to create the necessary reforms to guarantee just conditions. Theologians are divided on this."
The Pope also mentioned Archbishop Óscar Romero of San Salvador who was killed in 1980 while celebrating Mass. Benedict XVI said that he is "a great witness of faith."
The Holy Father added that he doesn't doubt that "his person merits beatification," but that the figure of Archbishop Romero must be freed of the ideological deformations of those who tried to take advantage it for political motives.
Code: ZE07050907
Date: 2007-05-09