Inserted Religious Life as a Path to Authentic Consecrated Chastity—The Witness of Non-Violent Solidarity of Alice Domon and José Aldunate Lyon in Latin America 1967–1983

Abstract

The reception of the Decree Perfectae caritatis in Latin America can be understood in connection with the emergence of the preferential option for the poor and the call for consecrated religious life to the insertion since the 1960s. As part of the existing link between conciliar texts and renewal movements, it is worth highlighting the testimony of religious life lived in solidarity with the poor as a way of practicing chastity and incorporating sexuality. This topic is explored through the life stories of two individuals, Alice Domon in Argentina (1937–1977) and José Aldunate Lyon in Chile (1917–2019), within the framework of related studies on ethnographic ecclesiology and the theology of renewed religious life. Amidst military governments, institutional violence, abuses of power, and human rights violations, the lives of these two consecrated individuals showcase an alternative path marked by self-emptying, unwavering fidelity, non-violent action, and prophetic denunciation. The pursuit of integration between contemplative and apostolic aspects in the love for God and the poor, along with the defense of human rights in solidarity with the victims and their families, are some of the keys that define an adapted understanding of religious life in the Latin American context.