ULRICH ENGEL

people to come to terms with such a situation creates an illuminating perspective. It unveils
openness towards another situation"22. This protest is based on the feeling or sense
of outrage. Out of this, prophetic protest and resistance grows up against the causes of
the disaster and, therefore, provides a basis for acting in solidarity. uin that way, a negative
contrast experience becomes effective against that which should not be [disaster],
on the basis of hope for that which should be [salvation]."23
The figure of the negative contrast experience comes close to what the German 'political'
theologian Johann Baptist Metz (University of Muenster) calls negative universalism; this
opposite of universalism of power is based on the generality of suffering as a malum
commune. And what Schillebeeckx called the sense of outrage recurs in Metz's writings
as 'compassion'.24
In this perspective Dominican theology-not only in Europe, but here as well-has to
look for the negative contrast experiences of people. These experiences encourage sisters
and brothers of the Order of Preachers to prophetic protest and solidarity. Dominican
theologians can interpret this resistance against a world as it is as a pre-thematically and
even pre-religious openness towards another, better situation-which Christians call
thematically salvation-from-God in Jesus Christ.2S
The theologian of liberation }on Sobrino S.J. (Universidad Centroamericana, San Salvador)
asserts something similar:
uin the face of a suffering world, the first answer is compassion, which urges us to
remedy this suffering. Like all other human and Christian actions, theology also
participates in this first answer, but in its own unique way. That is why theology
becomes an intellectus amoris, a perception through love, which takes on historical
forms when it is confronted with a suffering people (love as justice )."26
22 Ibid., p. 28.
2 3 Philip Kennedy, Edward Schillebeeckx. Die Geschichte von der Menschlichkeit Gottes (Theologische
Profile). trans. from English by Karl Pichler, Mainz 1993, p. 207 [Insertions: U.E.].
2 4 Cf. Johann Baptist Metz, Compassion. Zu einem Weltprogramm des Christentums im Zeitalter des Pluralismus
der Religionen und Kulturen, in: idem I Lothar Kuld I Adolf Weisbrod, Compassion. Weltprogramm
des Christentums. Soziale Verantwortung lernen, Freiburg-im-Breisgau 2000, p. 9-20.
25 Cf. Christian Bauer 1 Stephan van Erp (Hrsg. 1 Eds.), Heil in Differenz. Dominikanische Beitrage zu einer
kontextuellen Theologie in Europa I Salvation in Diversity. Dominican Contributions to a Contextual
Theology in Europe (Kultur und Religion in Europa vol. 2), Muenster 2004.
26 }on Sobrino, Theology in a Suffering World. Theology as intellectus amoris, in: Paul Knitter I Raimon
Panikkar (Eds.), Pluralism and Oppression. Theology in World Perspective (The Annual Publication of
the College Theology Society vol. 34), Lanham 1991, p. 153-177, here p. 165.