Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 39:4 (Dec 1996)
Article: Who Are The Truly Poor? Francis, Boff, Kazantzakis
Author: Frederick Sontag

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JETS 39:4 (December 1996) p. 609

Who Are The Truly Poor?
Francis, Boff, Kazantzakis

Frederick Sontag*

I. Leonardo Boff, Order Of Friars Minor

Leonardo Boff has given us an account of Saint Francis in the context of “liberation theology.” This is a good general setting in which to consider Francis, since he surely aimed to set himself, and hopefully others, free from the constraints of a dominating world and/or Church. The problem we have is to detach Francis from any distortion this setting might involve. As Boff states, he wants to use Francis as a “model for human liberation,” and there is no question but that Francis freed himself from the confines of the life that would have limited him to his societally defined state. Boff states clearly that the “liberation theology” in which he sets Francis is not Francis’ own. But our question is to decide how faithful this is to the gospel Francis preached.

Let us go through Boff ‘s account and ask how accurately it renders Francis’ message, and then let us contrast it with the account Kazantzakis has given us. We would expect the accounts to be as different from each other as Greece is from South America. Great figures can be transposed from culture to culture and have something to say to each age. But the contrast may help us find the essence of Francis’ message and where it can carry over for us. We must be careful of putting our own causes onto the innovators of an earlier time, nontraditional as they were in their own day. We want to renew an important message without distorting it if we can.

When Leonardo Boff calls Saint Francis “a model for human liberation,” 1 we suspect that his may be a more “humanistic” interpretation than normal. There is nothing wrong with this, but we should see how far this may differ from what we might take to be Francis’ own message. Boff tells us that the perennial truth of the gospel appears “whenever the saints … plumb the depths of human existence.” 2 True, but we need to note that this makes the gospel a human discovery. Boff wants to stress creating “fraternity,” which turns Francis’ message into one of self-discovery. Boff is also interested in the Church in a way Protestants can hardly be. But more important, was it Francis’ own vision of his relationship to “Church”?

Francis’ concentration on the poor is the key for Boff, and this service is paramount for Francis. But did he understand the “poor” as Boff does? Boff

* Frederick Sontag is professor of philosophy at Pomona College, Claremont, CA 91711.

JETS 39:4 (December 1996) p. 610

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