In 1931,
Pope Pius XI had put forward a vague plan for a sort of moderate
corporatism. However, he also pushed for both Catholic and secular labor unions. Though these unions were likely more akin to medieval guilds in the Pope's vision, unions at this time were beginning to be associated with workers' rights and class struggles. By the 1950s and 1960s,
Christian Democratic parties and Catholic labor associations were on the rise. Members were tasked with bringing Christian values and principles into public life. Papal teachings emphasized the "re-Christianizing" of society based on cooperation for the common good. While the Christian Democratic Parties began advertising their "Third Way" as an alternative to both capitalism and socialism, a divide formed within the Christian Democratic Parties between the "
liberationists" and the moderate conservatives who were in control. The
Latin American Episcopal Council (Spanish: Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano), also known as CELAM, organized the conference in Medellin in order to give direction to the Church in Latin America. In an introductory statement the bishops wrote: The reform movement drew on the influence of
Paulo Freire, widely regarded as the greatest literacy teacher of the region, along with Father
Camilo Torres and
Bartolomé de Las Casas. It allowed for the poor to object to the
hegemony and hierarchy they had been subjected to for the past centuries. Instead of accepting only what they were given, the people could now demand more, like
soup kitchens, day care,
co-ops, neighborhood organizations, higher wages, better medical care, and greater self-respect. The bishops and
religious sisters who took part in this effort were hoping that the "religious fervor" of the region would help make the result extremely powerful. They rejected for Latin America the model of development imposed by international organizations along with the national governments and economically powerful groups. The poor were to become active agents in the political and economic spheres. Bishop
Dom Hélder Câmara called for a "structural revolution" which would allow for integral development and the full flourishing of every human person. Pope Paul VI had spoken of "just insurrection" and the possible use of violent rebellion in certain situations. The Medellin Conference in 1968 opened the way for the development of liberation theology, and endorsed the formation of base communities under lay leaders approved by the pastor. As base communities greatly multiplied, critics would complain of
Marxist ideology and propensity toward violent confrontation. In 1978
Pope John Paul II, a staunch opponent of
Communism in his native Poland, diminished the influence of liberation theology by appointing in Latin America only conservative bishops. Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, later
Pope Benedict XVI, as Prefect of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was in charge of enforcing doctrine which largely opposed the theological interpretations and actions of the liberationists. In 1983 the Pope visited
Nicaragua and expressed his belief that there is a fundamental difference between Catholic and
Sandinista ideology, something which they vehemently deny. == Tension in Medellin documents ==