Medellín: source of inspiration for a methodology of interreligious dialogue

Abstract

The Conference of the Latin American Episcopate in Medellín (1968) inaugurated a "new time" for the Catholic Church in Latin America. Held after the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), it receives and updates its perceptions and leads to the "church of the poor." The Conference carried prophetic and practical vision in understanding pastoral and theological thinking "from below." The suffering of the oppressed and their cry for justice were heard. To assume the "see-judge-act" method in the structuring of the document and to think the pastoral and theological practice were fundamental to the emergence of a "new way" of being of the Catholic Church in the continent. However, how can this method inspire new dialogical constructions today? In what does it contribute to the partnership between Liberation Theology and Theology of Religious Pluralism? These answers configure the structure of this article ando also its objective: to understand how Medellín's methodological inspiration assists in the construction of interreligious dialogues in the present time with the purpose of greater understanding of the  Transcendent Mystery and social transformation. First, Medellín's criticisms of the pastoral methodology of that time will be presented. Next, it will be pointed out the configuration of a new pastoral methodology; finally it will be signaled how this methodology, assumed by Medellín, inspires the construction of interreligious dialogues in contemporary times.