Camilo Torres: Priest, Liberation Theologian, Guerrilla Fighter takes an in-depth look at the intense story of Colombian figure Camilo Torres Restrepo (1929-1966).
Camilo Torres: Priest, Liberation Theologian, Guerrilla Fighter takes an in-depth look at the intense story of Colombian figure Camilo Torres Restrepo (1929-1966). Torres was an acclaimed young liberal who became a priest, a sociologist, a forerunner of liberation theology, and a revolutionary politician who sought to end 130 years of terrible human suffering in his country and to replace it with a Christian humanism based on "efficacious love." This goal proved challenging to accomplish, and Torres ultimately found his way into the ranks of the Colombian ELN guerrilla movement, in which he was killed in February 1966, leaving behind a prophetic hope.
This book is a vital resource for historians and students of Latin America. It especially appeals to those interested in church policy, the theology of liberation, and guerrilla movements. As the first English-language publication on this subject in fifty yearssince the last account of Torress life in 1975it breaks new ground. Furthermore, it represents the first exploration of how Jewish thought influenced Torress theoretical framework, adopting a prophetic justice perspective that resonates with the struggles of Colombia and similar regions in the developing world. This is not just a historical account; it's a call to understand and confront injustice wherever it exists.
Contents
Acknowledgments
List of Maps
List of Illustrations
Introduction
An Unforgettable Evening
Goals of the Book
Structure
For whom is this book intended?
Chapter 1: Colombia: Basic Information and Fundamental Problems
General Historical Aspects
The Political and Economic System
"El Bogotazo" of 1948 and the "Outbreak of Violence" (La Violencia)
The Lessons of the "Independent Republic"
The Culture of Violence Colombian Style
Chapter 2: The Global Catholic Church and the Catholic Church in Colombia
The Catholic Church and Modernity
The Church in Colombia
The Colombian Church and the Question of Social Welfare
Chapter 3: Camilo Torres: Biographical Aspects
Childhood and Adolescence
The Belgian Period: Studies in the Shadow of an Era of Crisis
A Religious and Professional Career
Tests of Torress Approach
Chapter 4: The Crystallization of Camilist Theopolitics
Torres's Social-Theological Rationale
Rebellion is Inevitable: Why must Christians be revolutionaries?
On the Necessity of Structural Reform: Camilist Thinking
The Omission of Jewish Tradition from Camillist Thinking
One Step before a Theopolitics of Liberation
Chapter 5: The United Front of the People (Frente Unido del Pueblo) as a
Third Center of Power
The Platform of the Movement
The Crucial Day
The 12 Messages
Evaluating the Messages
The Disagreement with the Church and Torress Defrocking
Delegitimization and Character Assassination: The Day after the Defrocking
Chapter 6: The Failure of the Movement's Campaign
A Final Effort: The Meeting at the Bavarian Brewery
Between Optimism and Pessimism
The Final Message from the Mountains
The Reasons for Failure
Chapter 7: Joining the Guerrillas
A Moment of Truth and Isolation
Torres and the National Liberation Army (ELN)
A Prophet is not without honor except in his own town and his own home.
Chapter 8: The Camilist Legacy
New Social Perspectives
A New Species of Apostolism
The Medellķn Conference
Chapter 9: Torres: The Catholics Che Guevara?
Similarities: Biography
The Tendency to Theorize Reality
The Symmetry of the Failure and of the Hope for a Heroic Return
Che Guevara and Camilo Torres: Theologians of Liberation
Differences
A Che Guevara of the Catholics alone?
Epilogue
A Return to the Unforgettable Night
A Final Look
Camilo Lives!
Bibliography
Index
Eitan Ginzberg is a retired associate professor of history and culture at the Kibbutzim College of Education in Israel, a senior lecturer at Achva Academic College, and a Research fellow at the Sverdlin Institute of Latin American History and Culture at Tel Aviv University. His research focuses on the history and culture of Mexico and Latin America, as well as the study of genocide. Dr. Ginzberg is the author of numerous articles and several books, including Lįzaro Cįrdenas, gobernador de Michoacįn (1928-1932) (1999); Revolutionary Ideology and Political Destiny in Mexico, 1928-1934: Lįzaro Cįrdenas and Adalberto Tejeda (2015); The Destruction of the Indigenous Peoples of Spanish America: A Genocidal Encounter (2018).
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