Peru Modernity.pdf

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The Modernized Church in Peru: Two AspectsAuthor(s): Fredrick B. PikeSource: The Review of Politics, Vol. 26, No. 3 (Jul., 1964), pp. 307-318Published by: Cambridge University Press for the University of Notre Dame du lac on behalf of Review ofPolitics

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The ModernizedChurch n Peru:Two AspectsFredrick. PikeT ROUGHOUT Latin AmericaheCatholic hurch asembarkedpona processf modernization.he key le-mentn modernizationasbeen he ssumptionf nactiverole n thequestfor conomic ettermentfthe conditionsnwhich majorityfthepopulationives. ealizinghat modemnationsan integratedation,heChurcheems ohave dopted

as itsmotto: ModemChurchna ModemNation. onsequent-ly, thasbegun ohelpLatinAmericanepublicsecome ationsthroughhe ntegrationfpreviouslyxcludedroupsnto ociety.The Catholic hurchn Peru undertookhemodernizationprocesst a late date. The firstmportantointpastoraletterof thehierarchyttackingocialevils nd demandingn in-creasingttentivenesso thedictatesf distributiveusticewasissued nlyn 1958.Since henmanyfthe ountry'shurchmenand Catholicay eaders avebecomencreasinglytridentntheirattacksgainstheold ordernd n their allfor hedawn fanewdayof usticendmaterialomfortor ll.Frequentlyheyblame apitalismorhaving roducedhe ocial vils rom hichmanyPeruviansuffer,ithoutotheringo take nto ccountthat lsewhereince he ndofWorldWar I capitalismascon-tributedoward omeof thehighesttandardsf social usticethat heworld as known.Representativeftheattitudesfmany eal and self-styledspokesmenf the Catholic ocioeconomicositions a recentessay yRicardoTalaveraCampos, studentn the aw andphilosophyacultiesf theCatholicUniversityn Lima.Thisessay, El PensamientoCat61licocerca de Propiedad,"wasawarded irstrize n a contestponsoredytheCatholic ni-versityo payhomageo theencyclical ater tMagistra,ndwas publishedn abbreviatedormn theAugust-September1963editionfLima'sMensajero gricola.In addition o demandingmmediateocial usticendma-terial omfortor ll peasants,alaveramakes lengthynalysisofcapitalism,ndattackshepropositionhat wnershipfprop-ertys a natural ight. onvincedhat here as been nnopart307

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308 THE REVIEW OF POLITICSof the world genuine evelopmentwayfrom lassicallyiberalcapitalism, alavera asserts:"The concentrationf capitalandthe consequent rowth f inequalities re carryinghe liberalcapitalistystemo its grave."He complains hat the "captainsof ndustry"regaining ontrol vereveryspectofthecapitalistsystem,nd quotes approvinglyrom heworks f FatherL. J.Lebret o provethatcapitalismnevitablyorrupts emocracy yleadingto the purchaseof politicalparties nd preventinghehonest disseminationf news. Capitalism,he asserts, an bebased onlyon humanselfishnessnd lustforprofit,nd thuscan never e reconciled ithCatholicmorality.e argues urtherthatcapitalism annotsurvive ecause it does not have a soulto save it and is absolutelyevoidof ideas and ideals.Catholicsmustthereforebandonall support f the discreditedconomicsystem; therwise,heworkinglasseswhosemembersnderstandthat apitalismannot ndurewilldiscardheir atholicism. ore-over, f Catholics o not leap from hesinkingapitalisthip, twill be onlynon-Catholics ho reconstructhe economic ndsocialorder ncecapitalisms thoroughlyubmerged.uoting heJesuitpriest,Angelde ArinOrmazabal,to confirm is views,Talaveraargues hatthe rich houldgivetheir oodsto thepoor.If theydo notwishto, then thegovernmenthouldforce hemto do so.After eading heuncriticalondemnationfcapitalismmadeby manyof Peru'schampions f allegedly atholic-styleenova-tion, t is possible o understand owtheelderlynd distinguishedPeruvianntellectual,tatesman,iplomat,nd sociologist,ictorAndr6sBeladnde, s oftendismissed y Catholicism'sYoungTurks" as a stuffyeactionary.ela6nde,whose record n sup-port of intelligentlyonceivedCatholicsocial justicehas beenunmatchedn the twentiethentury,s brandedas reactionarypartlybecause in his superb1957 publication eruanidad hedevotednearly chapter o describinghe evolution fmoderncapitalism nd defendinghe feasibilityf working owardre-formwithin hecapitalisttructure.In the ight ftheanalysisfcapitalismmadebythosewho re-gard themselvess the authentic, on-reactionaryatholicre-formers,t is also possible o understandow one youngpriestrecently ent ll thewayand became,for ll practical urposes,a Communist.alom6nBolo,now defrocked,ontinues o voice



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THE MODERNIZED CHURCH IN PERU 309someof thefiercestttacksgainst apitalism,mperialism,ndtheold order n general hathavebeen heard n LatinAmerica inceFidelCastro ametopower.Regardlessfhowunderstandablehecase ofPeru'scommunistriestmaybe, it is stilldisconcerting.tis evenmoredisconcertinghatstaunchCatholicswho can laysome claimto beingrespectednterpretersf the Church's o-cial teachingsometimesound in theirblanket ttacks gainstcapitalismnd the existingrder s extreme nd injudicioussSalom6nBolo.Lessgiven otheextremesfBolo,and sometimes,hough otalways,morerestrainedn their ronouncementshantheexuber-antyoung alaveraoftheCatholicUniversity,s a group fout-spoken eruvian eligiousnd lay eaderswho have been themostconspicuousn contributingo the modernizationf theChurchin Peru. Butthere remanyways obecomemodem nd tofacethesocialproblem,nd the CatholicChurchn Peru stoday plitin regard o theproper pproach.On the one hand are thosewithwhomthisarticlehas thusfar beenlargelyoncerned. hese are the menwho,preoccupiedwitheconomicnequalitiesnd injustices,lame traditionalnsti-tutions nd structuresorfosteringhe iniquitous ituationnddemand apidmaterialomfortndsecurityor hemasses. ome-times to offer racticalhelp to the lowerclasses n attaininggreatermaterialwell-being,hey organize onsumernd creditcooperatives.ecentlylso there as beena move oward ividinga small portionof vast Churchlandholdings mong peasantworkers. ll too often,hough, he long-term,lowapproachofhelping hepoor classes o develop heir wn spiritualnd ma-terialresourcess shunnedn favorof dramaticmeasureswhichallegedlymake possibleovernightolutionof social problemswithoutmposingnyburdens,bligations,nd responsibilitiesfself-improvementn thepoor classes.The menwho fall ntothis ategoryrenegativend destruc-tive n their riticismf the old order;theyrefuse o take ntoaccount the multiple conomicobstacles n the way of rapidmaterial ettermentor hemasses; hey eel hat ll that sneededto resolve ationalproblemss a spiritualwakeningn thepartoftheupperclasseswhichwill nduce hem o share heirwealth.Bysuch an awakening,fvoluntary,he richwillsave boththeirsouls nd their ountry.f theawakeningmust e forced nd the



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310 THE REVIEW OF POLITICSwealth xtracted rom hem, hen he richwillat least avetheirnation.

There is a secondapproachto modernizinghe Church nPeru. It has to do withthe slow,cumbersomeevelopmentfnaturalvirtue mongall classes, rom ristocracyo proletariat,in the belief hat this s the onlysolid,however nspectacular,approach o social reform.t is relativelyatient fexistingocialand economicnstitutions;t foresees o greatadvantages o bederivedfromrestructuringld institutionsntilthe customs fmen n all walksoflifehave been reformednd untilbetterndmoreeffective abitsof workhave been acquired.This is actually revolutionarilyewapproach or he Catho-lic Church n a Latin American ountry.t was onlyfouryearsago that MonsignorJosephLiguttiperceptivelyommentedothis uthor hat o faras he wasconcerned rotestant issionariesgenerally adea greaterontributionn Latin Americahan heirCatholic ounterparts.oo often, e explained,he Catholicmis-sionaryust concerned imself ith he supernaturalrder,withgetting iswardsmarried,o Mass on Sunday, nd participatingoccasionallyn the sacramentalifeof the Church.On the otherhand, t was almost xclusivelyheProtestantshostresseduchnaturalvirtues s sobriety,esponsibilityn work-contractitua-tions,ndhabits fhardwork.Happily, Monsignor igutti's bservations no longercom-pletely alid in Peru.Tamshyacus one ofmanyPeruvian om-munities here here anbe foundhearteningxamples f Catho-lic missionaries'oncernwith hevirtue, atural s wellas super-natural,ftheirwards.Tamshyacus a communityf about 3,000, located on thebanksof the Amazona few milesupstreamrom heimportantPeruvianportof Iquitos.Since 1960 FatherFrancisKennard,a secularpriest rom ortland, regon,hasbeen n charge fthemissionrea ofwhichTamshyacus thecenter. e hashadamaz-ing success n bringing is people intocontactwiththe super-natural ife of theChurch.Moreover,n hiswarmly uman ndingratiating anner, atherKennardencourages isparishionersto developbetter abits f naturalvirtue. I tellthem,"he says,"notto cometodailyMass.The people nmyparish reworkers,and on ordinary ays hey houldbe workingnd not n Church.After ll, workings good forthe soul too." Unfortunately,ew



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THE MODERNIZED CHURCH IN PERU 311Catholic priests n Latin America have been accustomedto stress-ing the virtue nd dignity f labor.One of the Marianist brothersworkingduring the summerof 1964 at Tamshyacu explained the situation n these terms:Father Kennard hasn't formedcooperatives nd that sort ofthinghere.Maybe it's because thepoverty ereis not as grind-ing as in thesouthernmountain rea ofPeru.Oh, there's overtyall right,but manyof the familiesdo at least own theirownchacras (smallestates fup to approximatelyenacres). Anyway,Father Kennard has not been primarily oncerned about theimmediate economicsituationof his parishioners.Mainly he'sinterestedn helpingthem to becomegood people.Here, surely,s a sound spiritual pproach,and also, sound, ong-term economic approach. Withoutdoubt the economic problemof Peru is in part a moral problem, nvolvingnot just the hard-heartednessof the wealthy,but the laziness,irresponsibility,ndlack of natural virtue of the lower classes.The: Church musten-deavor to augmentnatural virtueamong the lower mass, or elsethere will never be widespread, significant conomicbetterment.Althoughthereare not nearlyenough clergy n Peru havingthe approach of FatherKennard, he is by no means alone in hiswork. Further, ll of thosewho stress he need for the Catholiceducational structureto provide better technical education toprepare the youthamong the faithful o take an effective ole inmeetingPeru's problems re tacitly oncedingthatreform nvolvesmany economic difficulties.hey recognizethat renovationdoesnot dependmerely pon the distribution f wealth butratheruponthe integralpreparationof all social classesto striveforeconomicdevelopment.Among Catholic leaders who have distinguishedthemselvesn the campaignfortechnicalpreparation ftheyouthare Victor Andres Belauinde,Jose Luis Bustamante y Rivero,the eminent Catholic Action leader and onetime PresidentofPeru (1945-1948), and Jose Dammert Bellido, Bishop of Caja-marca. Catholics of thistype generally xpect eventualeconomicprogressand material betterment o result from the practicalself-improvementhattheytry o inspire he faithfulo undertake.Even if the economicresultsdo not ensue,theyare stillconvincedthat the developmentof natural virtue and morality, s well astechnicalcompetence, mong the Peruvianpopulation s a worthyend in itself.Unfortunately,hose idealistic reformerswho are most de-



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312 THE REVIEW OF POLITICSlightedby the more conspicuous spectof the Church'snew-found nterestn social usticeoftengnore heapproachof theKennards, he Belatindes,he Bustamantes,nd the Dammerts.Theyconcentrateheir ttentionxclusivelyn and devote ll oftheir raiseto thosewhoin attemptingo modernizehe Churchstress nly immediateower-classetterment,ho fail to envi-sionanydifficultransitioneriod, nd whodevote reciousittleattentiono`inspiringatural irtue nd devotion owork mongthe ower lasses.The approachto themodernizationf the Church hatre-sultsfrom hese ttitudess a strange usion fnewand old ele-ments. t is new in thatto a largeextentt is influencedy aMarxist-tingednsistencepon eliminatingroletarianovertynda tendencyo regard heproletariats society'smostworthylass.It is old in its desire o realizethesegoals throughupernaturalmeans atherhanbyencouraginghe ype fnatural ndpracticalvirtue hathas demonstratedtsusefulnessn contributingo ma-terialadvance.Reforms supposed o comeby a dramaticallyquickchangeof heart n whichmankind'sustforprofit ill bereplaced ybrotherlyove. All willthen ive n abundance yun-selfishlyharinghe wealth f the and. In short,t is hopedthatthisworld an be changedby meansthatreallyhavemainly odo withthenextworld;themiracle f the fish nd the loavesofbread s to be repeated. he dream s to be abletobring boutmaterial eformnd at thesame time gnore ll thegrubbyma-terialrealities nd practical onsiderationshat havetraditionallybeen distastefulo Latin Americanntellectuals.his approachto modernizinghe Church nd makingt an instrumentf so-cial and economic eforms mysticalatherhanrealistic.However muchtheyare mysticalnd other-worldrientedin regard o themeansthey xpect o bring eform,hefact sthatthosewho wishto modernizehe Church nthemannerustdescribed re committingt to something erymaterialandverymuch ofthisworld:to therapidand dramatic etteringfliving tandards. his couldprovedisastrouso the Churchun-less t is in a positionfbeing ble to betterhegeneralmateriallevel of living,withoutheunlikely irectnterventionf Provi-dence. Does the Church, venunder deal conditionsn whichits counselwouldbe unquestioninglyccepted, ossess hemagicformulas or achievingwidespreadmaterialbetterment?



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THE MODERNIZED CHURCH IN PERU 313Despite tsadvantagesndprivilegesn oneof themostCatho-lic and proclericalf all LatinAmerican ountries,he Church

in Peruhas notevenbeen able adequately o maintaintsmanybuildings hroughouthe country; eminariesre oftenn sorryestate; he CatholicUniversitynLimastillanguishesconomical-ly and has neverbecomea reallyreputablenstitutef higherlearning; nd, on manyChurch-ownedands the workers areno better han on theestates f lay landlords frequentlyheydonotfare s well.Ignoring heirown lack of success n the economic phere,manyof theclergyn Peru are today ttemptingo provide heblueprintoreconomicallyestructuringheentire ation nd areat the ametimemmoderatelylailingapitalism. nless hey avecomeup with betterystemhancapitalism,speciallys ithasevolved n somepartsof theworld, heir conomic ronounce-mentsmaycomedangerouslyloseto being rresponsible.houldthe rapid material mprovementsithin new socioeconomic

structurehichmany hurchmen emandfor nd promiseo themassesnotbe realized, he Churchwill be in seriousdifficulty.The longer t continuesargely o identifytsprogramwith co-nomicbetterment,he more vulnerable ts positions likely obecome.Even if thepromisingdvancesmadeby many ectorsof Peruvian apitalismince the end ofWorldWar II continueand areencouragedya friendlytmospherefopinion, ramaticmaterial ettermentorthe massesmaynot be attainable n theimmediateuture,f forno other eason hanthe ncredibleopu-lationgrowth an increase fabout49 percentwithinhepasttwenty earsdespite he factthat almosthalfof the newborndie before eachingheage ofone.An importanteasonwhythe Churchhas not compiled nimpressiveconomic ecordn Peru mustbe traced o the man-ner in which, rueto its Spanishcolonial raditions,t has em-phasizedcharity ver less exaltedvirtues. n seekingfinancialsupport,he Church ften uts tselfnthe roleofalms-seekerndappealsto thecharityfthewealthy.t hasnotstressedhedutyand responsibilityf thewealthy oward heChurch.Naturally,then,ithas failed lso to impress ponthewealthyheir unda-mental uties o the aboring lasses. hisin turnhas contributedto a situationwhich s notconducive o instillingn the aborera senseofresponsibilityowardhisemployer.



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314 THE REVIEW OF POLITICSCapitalism - and for that mattersocialismalso - if it isto functionuccessfully ust be based not so muchupon the

practiceof charity s upon duty,responsibility,easonablen-tegrity,ystem,nd discipline. he Church, yneglectingo en-couragethesequalities amongthe faithful, as been in partresponsibleorthesometimes ediocre erformancefPeruviancapitalism. nless t succeeds,s manymembersftheclergyndlaity renowurging,nvastly hangingtsoldapproach,twouldcontributelso tothefailure f socialism ere t to be introducedin Peru. In a practicalway,the continuingnabilityf a stilllargenumber f churchmeno come to gripswiththeneed tofoster atural, ractical, conomic irtuen all socialclasses s agreaterdefectthan their formerack of concernwith socialjustice.Non-Catholic nd even anti-Catholic orceshave for thepast one hundredyearsbeenmoreeffectiven encouragingat-ural moralityhan the CatholicChurch.This was true n re-gardto PeruvianMasonrynd positivism,nd it is true nregardto Peruvian ommunism. he principal ounder f communismin Peru,JoseCarlosMariateguid. 1930) was a more loquentchampion f naturalmoralityhan the leadingCatholic pokes-men of his era. With considerableustificationariategui, rit-ing in Amauta (Lima, November, 928), criticizedhe char-acteristicack ofmoralityn Peru'spast.Then,deeply ndignantover the chargethat Marxismdestroysmorality,Mariateguiarguedthatthe zeal forthe classstruggle hen t possessedheproletariaturnedhim ntoa true scetic,moremorallyleansedand moreethicalthan any productof the bourgeoisCatholicsociety. o thisday,a personpassionatelyommittedo bringingrenovation o Peru and convinced hatstrict ersonalmoralityand civicprobityre essential or the task would in many n-stancesfindmoreto his liking n the program f communismthan in Peru's Catholicsocial justicemessage.As advancedbymanyCatholic pokesmenn Peru, ocial us-ticeappears obe all tooeasy nd simplenitsrealization,nthatitwillrequire eryittleong-termacrificend effortn thepartof men.The "changeofheart" pproachwithgenerosityeplac-ing greed s pictureds really uitepainless.At other imes,p-parently oubting hat a changeof heartof thesemiraculousproportionss likelyo occur, he Catholic ocial ustice hampions



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THE MODERNIZED CHURCH IN PERU 315suggest hata changeof economic ystemss necessaryf theirdream s to be realized.This approach oohas a fatal implicityabout t; in addition,t hasa familiaring oanyone amiliar ithLatin American istory.n thepast centuryatin American n-tellectuals,mongthema good percentagef the clergy,wereconvinced hat ll problemsouldbe solvedby changing oliticalsystems;nd so, theydevoted hemselvesirelesslyo concoctingnew constitutions.ll theyprovedwas that t takesmorethanputtingn a new setofpolitical lothes o bring boutstability,order, ivicresponsibility,nd honesty. oday,thegoal ofmanyLatin Americanntellectuals,mongthemmanyof thereligiousand lay championsf Catholic ocial ustice,s to solveall prob-lemssimply y changing conomic ystems.he success ormulais: substituteor the garmentsf capitalismhe cloak of somenew and untried, ut preferablyocialistic,ystem,nd preparethereaftero enjoythefruits f economic bundance nd socialharmony.The popularityf thisapproachhelps explainthepropitiousintellectual nvironmenthat communismnjoysamongmanyPeruvian ectors. t is longsincepastthetimewhenchurchmenand their ay followers houldbeginto have secondthoughtsaboutfollowinghesameapproach.Bypreachinghe solutionoproblems hrough doptionof new economic ystemsheclergyand theCatholicaity recausing heChurch o shirktsprimaryresponsibility,hich s the internal eform f man.

The clergyn Peru and elsewheren LatinAmericahas his-torically een fatally ttracted owardinterveningn spheressomewhat emoved rom tsprimaryrea ofconcern. he resultsofthis nterventionavegenerallyeendecidedly egative. ine-teenth-centuryeruvian hurchmen id not better heir ountrybyturningo politics. oday they renotnecessarilyontributingto nationalprogress y turningo economics.Many observersof the contemporaryeruvian cenewould, t is true,disagreewith thisstatement,iting he success hat the Catholicclergyappearsto have attained n foundingonsumer nd credit o-operativesn Peru.However uccessfulhese ooperativesppearinitiallyo be, and howevermuchtheclergys temptedo con-tinue to concern tselfwithdirectly rovidingorthe materialbettermentf thefaithful,hurchmen ouldprobably e betteradvised o getout ofthecooperativend similar ields s quickly



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316 THE REVIEW OF POLITICSas possible.t is perhaps ignificanthat neoftheoldest eruvianconsumerooperativesstablishedytheAugustiniansn Iquitosis today beingcriticized y its members orsupplyingnferiorgoodsthatsell for lmost s muchas first-classaterials. ne isreminded f the fact that a groupof earlyagrarianreformersin theUnitedStates, heGrangers,ailedn their ttemptso en-ter into various activities f the businessworld,demonstratingthatfarmers ere notnecessarilyoodbusinessmen.hurchmenmay earna parallel esson n Peruand, iftheydo, thecauseofCatholicism hichthey re tryingo servewill suffer.

In their oncernwith conomicmprovement,any fPeru'schurchmenre proceeding pon (groundshat are generallyc-cepted n United Statescircles s valid: communismhrives nmisery; emove he misery,nd the communisthreatwill dis-appear. In Peru,this ssumption hich s based largely n con-ceptsofeconomic eterminisms highlyuestionable. ne of thePeruvian abor unionswith the strongestlement f communistleaderships that of the stevedores. eru'sstevedoresarn whatin the economic urroundingss the fabulouswage of $400 to$600 a month.They are the aristocratsf labor,and yettheirranks re stronglynfiltratedy communism.This is notreally urprising.hroughoutatinAmerica t isthosemembers f themiddleclasswho have grown ndifferentor hostile o spiritualorceshatfurnishhe most ecruitso com-munism. he communistromise o bring boutthe fallof theupperclass feeds he envyof a spirituallydrift ut often co-nomicallyecurelynchoredmiddleclass.Partof thegainsofcommunismn contemporaryeruresultfrom hefactthattheclergy id notconcern tselfwith henat-ural virtue nd spiritual trengthf today'smiddle-classmem-bers t thetimewhen hey rtheir athers ere till trugglingoemergefromthe lowermass. This mistake, ather han beingrectified,ssumesmore widespreadproportions henever heChurchallows tself o become moreconcernedwithpromisingspeedysolutions o the economicunderdevelopmentf today'slowermass rather han with aunching perhapsessglamorouscrusade gainstts piritualndmoralunderdevelopment.In theirdemandsfor nstantaneousconomic ettermentorthe masses,PeruvianCatholicspokesmenometimesngage ndemagogic nd generic ttacks gainst hewealthy. heythereby



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THE MODERNIZED CHURCH IN PERU 317risk lienatingven thewell-intentioned,ocially onscious api-talists theverypeoplewith hedemonstratedkill, nowledge,and humanitariannclinations eeded to bring bout thesortofincreasedconomic roductivityn Peru that lonecanevermakepossiblebetter nd enduring istributionf wealth and goods.A recentoccurrencen Peru demonstratesow thisalienationcan takeplace.Some friends f the authorown a largesugarestateor ha-cienda in northern eru. Because of theirforesightnd will-ingness hrough heyearsto ploughback theirprofitsntotheoperation, heynow have an efficient,cientificallyun, andhighly roductiveusiness. he sugarrefinerys keptup to date,and muchmoneyhas been spenton research o discovernewuses forby-productsnd thusprovidebetter mploymentormoreworkers. he several housand ersons ivingon thisha-ciendaare quitewelloff.Theyare caredforbya modern linicand hospital taffed ithwell-trainedoctorsnd nurses; choolsare provided orthem, nd an intensiveuilding rograms un-der way to supplyall of themwithmodem, anitary ousingunits.There s also considerablepward ocialmobility, ith hesonsof themosthumbleaborers ften isingomanagementosi-tions.Recently,heownerswentto considerablefforto securethe permanentervices f priests n theirhacienda.Theywereturned ownbyan influentiallerical fficial hose ttitude asthattheChurch hould end no priestso the haciendas ecauseall largeestatesweredestined o disappear nd be parceled utamongtheworkers,r else convertedntocooperatives.If importanthurchmenersistn this ttitude,he haciendasprobablywill disappear, he inefficientlongwiththe scientificand highly roductiveneswhichprovide atisfactoryonditionsfor theirworkers ecause of soundmanagement.Whenthis oc-curs,productionwill decline and the glowing conomic uturepromised y the intemperatelerical dvocates f social justicewillbe farther ff hanever.Economicadvance and growth f spiritualtrengthre notmutuallyxclusive oals. Theyare compatiblend evenmutuallydependent.he Church ouldmakea tellingontributionowardthe realization f bothgoals by concentratingts actionsmorewithintsuniqueand proper ield fendeavor,ndbycontentingitself ith ncouragingatherhan coldingndattemptingo boss



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318 THE REVIEW OF POLITICSthose who have demonstratedconomic killand alongwith tat leastthe igerm f social consciousness.either conomicnorspiritual evelopments fosteredy competing ithcommunistsinfomentinglassrivalry.In a 1918 pastoral etter milioF. Liss6ny Chavez,newlyinstalledArchbishopf Lima, lamented hat the Church hadweakened ts position ecauseof the past inabilityf manyofits officialepresentativeso distinguishetweenpurelypoliticaland spiritualssues.The Archbishopeemedwilling o concedethat somePeruvianchurchmen,wingto theirconviction hattheycould not minister o the spiritual eeds of the faithfulunless hey ontrolledhepolitical tructure,ad failedbothonthe spiritualnd politicalfronts. oday,the beliefof somere-ligiousthat theycannot care spirituallyor the faithfulnlessallowed to dominate he economic tructureould produceanewpairoffailures.In its concernwith things conomicand material s theChurch n Peru likely o repeat ts old error f interveningnan area notalwayswithintsproper rovince? he views fonepriestdo not constitute hurchpolicy,but theycan exerciseconsiderablenfluence ither orgood or for bad. It is not re-assuringhat Lima'sfinenewspaper a PrensareportednApril13, 1964,thattheJesuit riestRomeoLuna Victorio,peakingtheprevious ay on "Radio Inca," had advocated heextracon-stitutional eansof a plebisciteo override congressionaln-actment,n the event hatcongresshouldpass an agrarian e-form awthatdidnot conformothe "canons ftheChurch...."Peru is one of theveryfewLatinAmerican ountries herechurchmanould with mpunitymakea pronouncementf thissort.Even in Peru,however,hurchmenan ill affordo abusetheir avorableosition.In some Peruvian nd, to a muchgreaterxtent,n UnitedStatescircles,praisehas most consistentlyeen awardedonlyoneaspect f themodernizedhurch:thepreoccupationfCath-olic religiousnd lay leaderswith mprovinghematerial ondi-tion of the masses. The second aspect of Peru's modernizedChurch, heemphasis ponnatural irtuewhile t thesame timeministeringo thesupernaturalivesofthepeople,mayeventuallyprove o be more ignificant,n addition obeingmoreChristian.

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