Abstract

LEVINE, Daniel H. Camilo Torres: faith, politics and violence. Soc. relig. [online]. 2011, vol.21, n.34-35. ISSN 1853-7081.

Camilo Torres became an icon of the Catholic left in Latin America because of his conviction that revolution was a Christian imperative and because of the example he gave, taking up arms and dying in the guerrilla struggle. His ideas, commitments, and the trajectory of his short public life make sense in the context of his country (Colombia), and of Latin American Catholicism and politics in this period. For Camilo Torres, the essence of Christianity was love for others. Social injustice was caused by concentrations of power that could only be changed by the application of another power. Therefore, revolution was the only way to make Christian love effective. His   commitments and positions are marked by deductive logic, totalizing rationalism, a mix of idealism with political naiveté, and a strong dose of clericalism. He saw violence as a necessary short term measure but never engaged the phenomenology of violence and gave little attention to the details of political organization and action. His ideas and example had considerable impact in the 1960s and 1970s but although he is commonly seen as a precursor of the Catholic left, his legacy was limited and very different from the theology of liberation.

Keywords :   Faith; Politics; Violence; Colombia; Revolution.

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