Perspectivas

Journal for the Hispanic Theological Initiative

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Issue 23 • 2026

  • Editorial | Issue 23

    Amid a climate of misinformation and fake news, recording history has become increasingly difficult. Decolonial theory has played its part, helping us uncover the colonial epistemic apparatus designed to misrepresent the past, along with the disfigurement of the traditions, cultures, and knowledges of Indigenous communities around the world. In religion, traditions are also deeply polarized by different allegiances to nation, to ideologies, or to diverse social commitments. For those who claim to be Christians, this is a climate that requires much discernment and prophetic determination to remain unspoiled by hatred, discrimination, and a desire of revenge. We are also required to rethink, once again, our role as scholars of religion and theology.

    Liberation theology has taught us that grassroots voices are the site and content of theological knowledge. They also exposed the economic, social, ethnoracial, and gender scaffolding that contributed to the oppression of the poor and marginalized masses. Latina/o/x theologies also helped us recognize the critical role that one’s cultural tradition plays in articulating people’s experiences of faith. They lifted the veil from the pretension of cultureless traditions and theological formulations. These theological traditions insisted on the contextual nature of the theological task. These schools, together with decolonial thinking, invite us to go back and retrace the threads of colonization in the very structures of knowledge and theology that we have inherited. They also challenge us to stand outside of the strictures of inherited theological methods and academic approaches to explore the possibilities for interpreting our own histories and traditions differently. As a result of these three strands of thought, the very construction of our identity, our understanding of our history, and our interpretation of our own sources of knowledge are under deep reconsideration.

    This issue of Perspectivas exemplifies a rethinking of our celebrated Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. The authors in this issue raise new questions, challenge what has been taken-for-granted, and introduce other lenses and understanding of her legacy and her role within the Catholic Church of her time. As they show, appreciating her legacy is a lot more complicated and requires consideration of recently discovered material. The articles in this collection urge us to reconsider Sor Juana’s life, faith commitments, and writings from the perspective of her being a Teacher of the Church. Consistent with the lives of San Martín de Porres and Óscar Romero, the guest editors and authors in this volume make the case for Sor Juana’s official recognition as a saint of the church. 

    It is with pleasure and humility that we offer this new issue of Perspectivas 2026 to the broader community of scholars of religion and theology. 

    The editorial team.

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Articles

  • Acknowledgements

    By Theresa A. Yugar and Juan A. Tavárez
    Abstract:
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    Acknowledgements

    Por Theresa A. Yugar and Juan A. Tavárez
    Resumen:
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  • Prologue

    By Bishop Ramón Castro y Castro
    Abstract:
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    Prólogo

    Por Obispo Ramón Castro y Castro
    Resumen:
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  • Introduction

    By
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    Introducción

    Por
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  • The Modern Myth of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

    By Alejandro Soriano Vallès
    Abstract:

    Throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the great majority of the academic establishment has insisted on presenting Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz as an intellectual victim of the hierarchy of the Catholic church and as a figure who, in challenging the prevailing social views of her time, elicited distrust. This study makes the falsity of such an approach evident. Through the analysis of two documents

    recently discovered in the National Library of Peru, her victimhood is revealed as a simple myth. On the contrary, the historical evidence demonstrates that, as the earliest biographers of the Hieronymite nun attested, she was loved and admired by the generality of her fellow citizens and ecclesiastical superiors.

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    El mito moderno de Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

    Por Alejandro Soriano Vallès
    Resumen:

    A lo largo de los siglos XX y XXI la gran mayoría del establishment académico ha insistido en mostrar a Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz como una víctima intelectual de la jerarquía de la Iglesia católica y una figura que, por no compartir el pensamiento de su sociedad, despertaba desconfianza en ella. Este estudio hace ostensible la falsedad de tal enfoque. Mediante el análisis de dos documentos descubiertos en la

    Biblioteca Nacional del Perú durante la presente centuria, muestra que se trata de un simple mito. Contrariamente, las evidencias históricas patentizan que, como testimoniaron los biógrafos primigenios de la monja jerónima, ella fue querida y admirada por la generalidad de sus conciudadanos y superiores eclesiásticos.

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  • Monasticism and Episcopal Conscience. A Letter from Manuel Fernández de Santa Cruz to Francisco de Aguiar y Seijas

    By Rocío Silva Herrera and Jesús Joel Peña Espinosa
    Abstract:

    This essay presents and analyzes the attitudes toward cloistered nuns on the part of two figures closely associated with Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: Archbishop Aguiar y Seijas and Bishop Fernández de Santa Cruz. Through an unpublished letter written by the Bishop of Puebla to the prelate of Mexico, the reasons each had for relating to nuns are made clear; this contributes to understanding their

    respective relationship with Sor Juana, in which there was neither misogyny nor envy, but rather closeness and respect expressed through different ways of exercising the episcopal office.

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    Monacato y conciencia episcopal. Una carta de Manuel Fernández de Santa Cruz a Francisco de Aguiar y Seijas

    Por Rocío Silva Herrera y Jesús Joel Peña Espinosa
    Resumen:

    Este ensayo muestra y analiza las actitudes hacia las monjas de clausura por parte de dos personajes totalmente ligados con Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: el arzobispo Aguiar y Seijas, y el obispo Fernández de Santa Cruz. Mediante una carta inédita, escrita por el obispo de Puebla al prelado de México, se observan las razones que tenía cada uno para relacionarse

    con las monjas; esto contribuye a comprender su respectiva relación con Sor Juana, donde no había misoginia ni envidia, si no una cercanía y respeto desde distintas maneras de ejercer el oficio episcopal.

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  • Sor Juana’s Decision

    By Jaime Septién
    Abstract:

    Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz’s decision to enter the cloister was not easy, as no decision of such magnitude ever is. First with the Carmelites and then with the Hieronymites, there is in Juana Inés a desire for holiness—without forsaking the appreciation of the world’s beauties—a desire to find what she herself declares in one of her greatest truths: to consume the vanities of life rather than to consume life

    in vanities.

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    La decisión de Sor Juana

    Por Jaime Septién
    Resumen:

    La decisión de Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz para entrar en la clausura no fue fácil, como ninguna decisión de esta grandeza lo es. Primero con las carmelitas y después con las jerónimas, hay un deseo de santidad, sin renunciar a comprender las bellezas del mundo, en Juana Inés; un deseo por encontrar lo que ella misma declara en una de sus mayores verdades:  consumir vanidades de la vida en

    lugar de consumir la vida en vanidades.

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  • ON THE OFFERING OF LIFE by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz for her religious sisters

    By Juan A. Tavárez, Alan A. Barrera, and Abjessü Valdiviezo
    Abstract:

    In this paper we argue that, thanks to the apostolic letter in the form of a “Motu Proprio” Maiorem hac dilectionem on the offering of life by Pope Francis, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz fulfills the principal requirement established by the apostolic letter for being elevated to the altars of the saints in the Roman Catholic Church.

    [See article for full abstract]

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    SOBRE EL OFRECIMIENTO DE LA VIDA de sor Juana Inés de la Cruz para sus hermanas religiosas

    Por Juan A. Tavárez, Alan A. Barrera, y Abjessü Valdiviezo
    Resumen:

    En este trabajo argumentamos que gracias a la carta apostólica en forma de «Motu Proprio» Maiorem hac dilectionem sobre el ofrecimiento de la vida del Sumo Pontífice Francisco, sor Juana Inés de la Cruz cumple con el principal requisito que establece la carta apostólica para ser elevada a los altares de los santos en la Iglesia católica.

    [Acceda al artículo para leer el resumen completo]

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  • Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: Doctor Ecclesiae Universalis

    By Theresa A. Yugar
    Abstract:

    Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, a seventeenth-century Mexican nun, lived a life marked by humility, holiness, heroic virtue, and unwavering faith. Although, Sor Juana has not yet been canonized as a saint in the Catholic Church, I argue that once she is canonized—as elaborated upon in Juan A. Tavárez’s essay in this volume—she should be declared a Doctor Ecclesiae Universalis in the Roman Catholic Church for her substantial intellectual contributions to Catholic theology, philosophy, and doctrine.

    Sor Juana’s extensive oeuvre encompasses poetry, Eucharistic dramas (also known as autos sacramentales), villancicos (Hispanic liturgical songs), and spiritual devotionals to María Santísima, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Among these works, Sor Juana’s theological treatise La Respuesta (The Answer) and her philosophical poem El Primero Sueño (First Dream) demonstrate her contributions to the Catholic intellectual tradition as both a theologian and a philosopher.

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    Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: Doctor Ecclesiae Universalis

    Por Theresa A. Yugar
    Resumen:

    Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, una monja mexicana del siglo XVII, vivió una vida marcada por la humildad, la santidad, la virtud heroica y una fe inquebrantable. Aunque sor Juana aún no ha sido canonizada como santa en la Iglesia Católica, sostengo que una vez que sea canonizada —tal como se desarrolla en el ensayo de Juan A. Tavárez en este volumen— debería ser declarada Doctor Ecclesiae Universalis en la Iglesia Católica por sus sustanciales contribuciones intelectuales a la teología, la filosofía

    y la doctrina católica. La extensa obra de sor Juana abarca poesía, dramas eucarísticos (también conocidos como autos sacramentales), villancicos (cantos litúrgicos hispanos) y devocionales espirituales a María Santísima, la Santísima Virgen María. Entre estas obras, el tratado teológico La Respuesta y su poema filosófico El Primero Sueño demuestran sus contribuciones a la tradición intelectual católica tanto como teóloga y como filósofa.

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HTI Book Reviews

  • Al amor de Sor Juana, by Alejandro Soriano Vallès. Bonilla Artigas Editores, 2023. 166 Pages.

    Juan Antonio Tavárez
    Claremont Graduate University
  • Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. Doncella del Verbo, por Alejandro Soriano Vallès. Secretaría de Cultura y Deporte del Gobierno del Estado de México/Jus, libreros y editores SA de CV, 2020. 531 páginas.

    Fernando Caloca Ayala
    Investigador, Consultor y Mentor independiente
  • Pentecost at Tepeyac?: Pneumatologies from the People, By Orlando O. Espín. Orbis Books, 2024. 148 pages. $27.00.
    Orlando O. Espín
    Héctor Varela Rios
    Villanova University
  • Formative Theological Education, Edited by Colleen M. Griffith and Hosffman Ospino. Paulist Press, 2023. 151 pages. $27.95

    Francisco Castillo
    Loyola University
  • Valuing Lives, Healing Earth: Religion, Gender, and Life on Earth, Eds., Theresa A. Yugar, Sarah E. Robinson, Lilian Dube and Teresia Hinga. Peeters 2021. $69.

    MiKayla Hamilton
    Emory University
  • Engaging Latino/a/x Theologies: A Conversation, By Sharon E. Heaney. Cascade Books, 2024. 204 Pages. $27.00.

    Luis Tapia Rubio
    Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary

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ISSN 2472-1263