Abstract

This article consists of two parts. First, the author elaborates a synthetic exposition of the central elements of the Ecclesiology of Liberation, preceded by a review of the hermeneutic elements that articulate liberation theology. Then he critically evaluates its ecclesiological proposal with regard to three fundamental problems: the understanding of Church as historical sacrament of salvation, the category of People of God understood as "the Church of the poor", and its particular understanding of the category, "Kingdom of God". The article concludes that liberation theology, and particularly its ecclesiology, distance themselves from that ecclesiology provided by Vatican Council II as a secure norm for ecclesiological comprehension. © 2009 Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.