In Brief
McCauley, Michael F. & Quigley, Thomas E
In brief THEOLOGY IN A NEW KEY, by Robert McAfee Brown, Westminster $6.95, 212 PP. First of all, let's get our definitions straight. Liberation theology is that "mixture of Christianity and...
...Jesuit Neil P. Hurley says all this, and little more in his slim volume...
...thing to do but listen to the clear tones of McAfee Brown's orchestration of the liberation theology symphony...
...Brown unpacks and de-jargonizes all that and much more in what will stand as the best North American introduction to the liberation theologies...
...Though it is doubtless true that because movies can so easily reach illiterates as well as literates, rich and poor, old and young alike, they can become, as Father Hurley points out, "a unique tool for 'consciousness-raising,' capable both of universal access and, also, depth of penetration in terms of education...
...Greeley...
...What can you say about a book which demonstrates that "movies are liberating...
...Had he directed his thesis to filmmakers, perhaps in a trade journal, or condensed his remarks to magazine length, he might have had more effect...
...The style, like the composer, is lucid and engaging, moving from consideration of the "established harmonies" of the social gosl~l/social teaching streams of the Protestant/Catholic traditions to the challenge presented these harmonies by the view from below, from the underside of history...
...But more than this, we believe, is pretentious prattle, the pastime of pedants who virtually squeeze from a film its lifeblood...
...THOMAS E. QUIGLEY is on the staff of the Division of Latin America, U.S...
...Catholic Conference...
...is a staffpsychiatrist of the Yale Student Health Services...
...And the starting point for this theological task is people, specifically the majority--the poor, the marginalized, the oppressed...
...Using a variety of (mostly successful) musical conceits, Brown has completely succeeded in conveying the central content, orientation and methodology of the Latin American theologies of liberation...
...In its present form, The Reel Revolution is strained and over-long...
...More, it is "a corrupt and self-serving mockery of Christianity, a propaganda machine for pragmatic Marxism and Christian Marxism's greatest weapon" (M...
...FATHER ROBERT W. HOVDA is currently coordinator of the liturgical dimension, ministerial program at the Jesuit School of Theology in Chicago...
...In this view, theology, the act of critical reflection in the light of Scripture, is a "second moment," following on the engagement with concrete reality...
...T.~h-t JOIN THE KENNEDY BANDWAGON order your "I'm Ready for Teddy" T-shirt, 50/50 heather blue, sizes (S-M-L-XL), $5, includes mailing, cashiers check or cash only...
...True, we empathize, are moved...
...Even Father Hurley concedes this point: "As is often the case in media, those who go to hear or see an experience do so to reinforce their already existing beliefs...
...And there it is...
...Still not satisfied...
...If not fully satisfied after reading it, you will at least understand more than all the worthies cited above...
...Joseph's Seminary, Yonkers, N.Y...
...by Neil P. Hurley, Orbis, $7.95, paper, 175 pp...
...More often than not, we seek out films that support our worldview rather than those which confront our personal or social values...
...That films have not yet been "fully perceived as revolution...
...63c, six times...
...THOMAS E. QUIGLEY THE REEL REVOLUTION: A FILM PRIMER ON LIBERATION...
...ROSEMARY H. BALSAM, M.D...
...Martin...
...a media event," a "rehash of German political theology" which "almost no one in Latin America takes seriously" but which is also "politically and ecclesiastically dangerous to the well-being of the people in the poor countries" (A...
...While Father Hurley may see film as revolutionary, his point will go largely undetected by those queuing up to pay $4, $5 or $6 to see Superman...
...Then there's noClassified RATES: 70c a word, one time...
...monthly in advance for more than three times...
...MICHAEL F. McCAULEY is executive editor of the newsletters published by the Thomas More Association...
...MICHAEL F. McCAULEY REVIEWERS FATHER RICHARD J. DILLON is on the faculty of St...
...COMMONWEAL, 232 Madison Ave., NYC 10016...
...This action (praxis) in turn flows from an analysis that, with the available (thus obligatory) tools of the social sciences, asserts and embraces the reality ot social conflict rather than the illusion of social harmony...
...Liberation theology is that "mixture of Christianity and Marxism that has prompted some priests to doff their cassocks to join guerrilla bands" (Times of the Americas), which "cites the Bible as justification for social activism" (N.Y...
...That beneath profitable escape films there is "a subtle but very real judgment on the larger society...
...Times), has "provided ecclesiastic writ for such secular activities as organizing trade unions and peasant movements" (Economist), and 9 is the "divisive effort within the Latin church to make common cause with the region's disinherited" (Washington Post...
...That filmmakers are motivated--subconsciously, perhaps-by an "irrepressible urge to make enduring statements of profound significance on the human condition...
...Commonweal: 606...
...FATHER GEORGE H. TAVARD is a member of the faculty at Methodist Theological School in Ohio...
...Or else we just enjoy a movie, allowing it to entertain us, diverting our attention--momentarily-from routine anxieties...
...Classified payable with order...
...GEORGE WOODCOCK is a Canadian author whose books include Faces of India and Peoples of the Coast...
...Box 2649, Chicago, 60690...
...Wild West Company, 1400 North Rouse, Bozeman, MT 59715...
...However, the fact of the matter is that liltle liberation actually resuits from a trip to the movies...
...66c, three times...
...Theology begins "where the pain is...
...Mm.rlod Priests CORPUS-National Association Resigned/ Married Priests...
Vol. 106 • October 1979 • No. 19
