Mobilizações sociais nas comunidades da Zona Norte de São Leopoldo: Práticas pastorais, sociais e políticas desenvolvidas por sujeitos sociais em torno da ação do pe. Orestes Stragliotto

Abstract

This thesis seeks to investigate the influence of Theology of Liberation and experiences of life that took place in some Basic Ecclesial Communities by social actors in the northern region of Sao Leopoldo city, including Fr Orestes Joao Stragliotto, who is our major source for the research conducted due to his writings and interviews from some social actors that participated in social mobilizations. These writings and interviews permeate our analysis around our objectives and hypothesis raised. Few people would disagree that Theology of Liberation has been important in – and outside – the Catholic structure in the recent history of Brazil. However, we do not find many case studies in the Social Sciences regarding effective actions as results from theological liberation practices. This research presents some practical results of a case study of Theology of Liberation from the social praxis of Fr Orestes Joao Stragliotto and of social actors by means of the method suggested in this theology, that is, See, Judge and Act. As a result, we see that the social practice has resulted the formation of social movements and popular mobilizations in the northern region of Sao Leopoldo. We also see that this practice took place in the 1980s and 1990s in the Parish Santo Inacio’s Basic Ecclesial Communities, which has affected the way people understood the relationship between the church, politics and life, once these practices have changed the local reality of the social actor and their vividness in the political institutionality.