Voices from the Slums. ?A poor Church for the Poor?: Buenos Aires Slum Residents? Views about Poverty and the Church

ANA LOURDES SUAREZ

Chicago

Congreso; Annual Meeting of the Association for the Sociology of Religion; 2015

Association for the Sociology of Religion

The "closeness" of the Buenos Aires Archbishop, Jorge Bergoglio, - today Pope Francis- with the slum resident ?the poorest in the City- was one of the priorities of his administration. The relationship with this population was built in varied ways since he was elected at the head of the Archdiocese in 1998. Assuming that Pope Francis is a person that poor people feel close, 400 persons living in several Buenos Aires slums, were asked: "if you had the opportunity to talk with Pope Francis, what changes would you ask him for the Church?" This open question was part of a questionnaire aimed at addressing the beliefs, devotions and religious practices of slum residents. We have grouped the answers in five. The presentation analyzes the responses given. The symbolic innovator leadership of the current Pope, and the fact that he was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, give a peculiar weight to their answers.