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Ivone Gebara (born December 9, 1944) is a Brazilian Catholic nun, philosopher, and feminist theologian.Teologia feminista e a crítica da razão religiosa patriarcal: entrevista com Ivone Gebara
Por Maria José Rosado-Nunes. ''Revista Estudos Feministas'', vol.14 n°1. Florianópolis, jan.-abr. de 2006. ISSN 0104-026X
She is notable for her writing on ecofeminsm.


Biography

Ivone Gebara was born in
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
on December 9, 1944 to a family of Syrian-Lebanese descent. After receiving a degree in philosophy, she joined the Augustinian Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady in 1967 at the age of 22. She has two doctorates, one earned from the
Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo The Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo ( pt, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, PUC-SP), locally known as ''PUC'' or the ''Catholic University'' ('), is a private and non-profit Catholic university. It is one of the larg ...
in philosophy in 1975 and another from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium in religious sciences in 1998. Gebara taught at the Instituto Teológico do Recife (ITER) for almost 17 years alongside founder
Hélder Câmara Hélder Pessoa Câmara (7 February 1909 – 27 August 1999) was a Brazilian Catholic archbishop. A self-identified socialism, socialist, he was the Archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Olinda e Recife, Olinda and Recife, serving from 196 ...
. Linked to
liberation theology Liberation theology is a Christian theological approach emphasizing the liberation of the oppressed. In certain contexts, it engages socio-economic analyses, with "social concern for the poor and political liberation for oppressed peoples". I ...
, the institution existed from 1968 until it was closed by order of the
Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
in 1989. Since then she has devoted her time to writing and delivering courses and lectures around the world, on the foundations of religious discourse. Since 1973 Gebara has lived in the Northeast Region. She currently lives in a poor neighborhood of
Camaragibe Camaragibe (population 156,736) is a city in northeastern Brazil, in the State of Pernambuco. It lies near Recife at 8.00° South, 35.04° West. Currently, Camaragibe is run by Nadegi Queiroz (from the political party Republicans) and Délio Junio ...
in the
Recife metropolitan area Recife Metropolitan Area, officially the Metropolitan Region of Recife (, or ''Grande Recife'') is a major metropolitan area in Northeast Brazil with a population of 4.02 million as of 2020, centered on the state capital of Recife, Pernambuco. In ...
, 25 km from
Recife That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15) , image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco , pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...
.


Early life

In 1962, when she was only 18, Gebara begin teaching philosophy at a public college while also working as a secretary. In 1966, she obtained her degree in philosophy in São Paulo and she traveled the same year to Louvain in Belgium in order to study theology. However, her studies are promptly interrupted when she is asked to return to Brazil in 1973 to replace José Comblin, who had been exiled due to his revolutionary theology. She teached theology and philosophy at ITER (Institute of Theology in Recife) where she met
Hélder Câmara Hélder Pessoa Câmara (7 February 1909 – 27 August 1999) was a Brazilian Catholic archbishop. A self-identified socialism, socialist, he was the Archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Olinda e Recife, Olinda and Recife, serving from 196 ...
, another pioneering liberation theologian who was the archbishop of Recife at the time. It also marked the beginning of her dedication to writings for the theological foundations of community development projects that focused on promoting social change through educational programs.


Conflict with the Church

In 1993, Gebara had caused a stir within the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) by confiding to the weekly magazine ''
Veja Veja may refer to : Places * Veja, a town in Lazio, central Italy; now Vejano comune * Veja, a village in Stănița Commune, Neamț County, Romania * Veja River, Romania * Veja State, a former princely state in present Gujarat, western India Perso ...
'' that abortion was not a sin. In 1995, her position on
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...
earned Gebara an international notoriety for being silenced by the Vatican and sent for two years of theological re-education in Belgium in a theological institute, during which was subjected to forced silence (prohibition to manifest herself publicly) and was condemned for criticizing the moral teaching of the Catholic Church. During that time, she obtained her second doctorate, in Religious Studies from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. Gebara wrote a book addressing evil, ''Rompendo o silêncio: uma fenomenologia feminista do mal''. Her critical attitude is rejected in many religious circles, often by people who do not question the presuppositions that are the basis of the theological reflection of the Brazilian nun. It has always made it clear which side it stands on: that of marginalized groups within society and within the Church itself.


Ecofeminism

She is a leader in the Latin American ecofeminist movement, writing, teaching, and organizing, including work with the Con-spirando collective in Santiago, Chile. Her ecofeminist theology focuses on the concerns and needs of the poor. For years, Ivone Gebara, in addition to being a philosopher and economic theologian from Brazil, has accompanied a truly committed woman who practices her theology to denounce the patriarchal structures of a predominantly male discourse and the unjust societal system in particular within the Church by connecting them to ecology. The ecofeminist ethic is a central theme of many of her books. She defines ecofeminism as an ideology that takes an integrating view of all the phenomena of life, both when it considers each human being and when it plans to reflect on the world (“Dictionary of Feminist Theologies”). Today, Gebara lives in a poor neighborhood, among the women, children and men of a village in the northeast of Brazil, near Recife, a way of life that animates her experiences and her writings.


Works

Gebara is the author of over thirty books and numerous articles published in Portuguese, Spanish, French, English and German.Uma clara opção pelos direitos das mulheres. Entrevista com Ivone Gebara
. Por Mariana Carbajal. Instituto Humanitas -
Unisinos Unisinos (Portuguese: ''Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos'' -- literally "University of Bells' River Valley") is a Brazilian private Jesuit university founded in 1969. Its main campus is located in Southern Brazil, in the city of São Leopo ...
, 25 de julho de 2012
Nhanduti editora
Ivone Gebara.
/ref> Her English works are: * * * Her major works in other languages include: *''Trindade: palavra sobre coisas velhas e novas. Uma perspectiva ecofeminista'' (1994) *''Teologia ecofeminista. Ensaio para repensar o Conhecimento e a Religião'' (1997) *''Rompendo o silêncio. Uma fenomenologia feminista do Mal'' (2000) *''A Mobilidade da Senzala Feminina. Mulheres Nordestinas, Vida Melhor e Feminismo'' (2000) *''La sed de sentido. Búsquedas ecofeministas en prosa poética'' (2002) *''As águas do meu poço. Reflexões sobre experiências de liberdade'' (2005) *''O que é Teologia'' (2006) *''O que é Teologia Feminista'' (2007) *''O que é Cristianismo'' (2008) *''Compartilhar os pães e os peixes. O cristianismo, a teologia e teologia feminista'' (2008) *''Vulnerabilidade, Justiça e e Feminismos - Antologia de Textos'' (2010) *''Terra - Eco Sagrado (Teologia da Libertação e Educação Popular)'' (with Arno Kayser)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gebara, Ivone 1944 births Living people 20th-century Brazilian Roman Catholic nuns Brazilian feminists Brazilian spiritual writers Brazilian women writers Ecofeminists Christian feminist theologians Liberation theologians People from Pernambuco Women religious writers Brazilian people of Lebanese descent Brazilian people of Syrian descent 21st-century Brazilian Roman Catholic nuns