CNA Newsroom, Oct 23, 2024 / 04:35 am (CNA).
Gustavo Gutiérrez Merino, the Peruvian Dominican priest considered the” father” of liberation theology, died on October 22 at the age of 96.
The Dominican Province of St. John the Baptist of Peru announced the death of Gutiérrez, noting he was the author of the influential 1971 book “A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics and Salvation.”
“We ask for your prayers to accompany our dear brother so that he may enjoy eternal life,” stated the announcement signed by Fr. Rómulo Vásquez Gavidia O.P., the provincial prior.
The Dominicans indicated that Gutiérrez’s remains would lie in state at the Santo Domingo convent in Lima’s historic center.
The Vatican and Liberation Theology
The Theology of Liberation is a school of thought that explored dimensions of liberation from the standpoint of Catholic Social Teaching. In some of its radical expressions, in particular in Latin America, liberation theology embraced many elements of Marxist theory and advocated for social change through various forms of revolution. At times, it also cast Christ as a form of revolutionary figure.
Its more extreme dimensions emphasized a closeness with the poor and the suffering and called for authentic liberation in Christ.
In a January 2017 interview with Spanish newspaper El País, Pope Francis said: “Liberation theology was a positive thing in Latin America. The Vatican condemned the part that opted for Marxist analysis of reality. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger [the later Pope Benedict XVI] issued two instructions when he was prefect of the Doctrine of the Faith: One very clear about the Marxist analysis of reality, and the second taking up positive aspects.”
During St. John Paul II’s papacy, the Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Doctrine of the Faith conducted an investigation that resulted in two documents: “The instruction on certain aspects of the ‘Theology of Liberation’” – Libertatis Nuntius (1984) and the “Instruction on Christian freedom and liberation” – Libertatis Conscientia (1986).
Over many years, the Vatican examined Gutiérrez’s writings. In 2006, the Peruvian bishops’ conference reported that the Vatican had “concluded the path of clarification of problematic points contained in some works of the author” in 2004, with a revised second version of Gutiérrez’s article “Ecclesial Koinonia.”
Life and Writings
Born on June 8, 1928, Gutiérrez was ordained a priest in 1959 and joined the Dominican order in 2001. He studied medicine and literature at the National University of San Marcos while participating in Catholic Action. He later studied theology at the University of Louvain (Belgium) and the Institut Catholique of Lyon (France).
Gutiérrez served as the John Cardinal O’Hara Endowed Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame (USA). His books have been translated into multiple languages.
One of Gutiérrez’s last international appearances was in Rome in October 2019 at a congress held at the Jesuit General Curia. There, at the invitation of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America (CAL), he delivered a lecture on “The Preferential Option for the Poor.”
A year earlier, in June 2018, Pope Francis sent Gutiérrez a letter for his 90th birthday, thanking him “for what you have contributed to the Church and humanity through your theological service and your preferential love for the poor and the discarded of society.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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Next thing you’ll hear from this apostate Vatican: Gutierrez will be canonized a saint. Just wait…
He inspired generations of people of goodwill worldwide. Respectful farewell to the Reverend Gustavo Gutierrez Merino. In Paradisum Deducant te Angeli.
A lovely article Walter Sanchez in its absolute fairness.
Catholics should identify with most aspects of LT.
The best socialist and social democratic governments make outstanding commitments on behalf of the marginalized and oppressed.
Here in Brisbane, the just defeated Labor Government offered 50 cents public transport fares (that’s less than 35 cents US). The fares extend from Brisbane to the Gold and Sunshine Coasts which can involve journeys of over 100 kilometres.
The wheel chairs of disabled travellers have access by mobile ramp to air-conditioned carriages which are equipped with wash-room facilities.
Staff are available to assist disabled people at most larger stations.
I noticed the kindness of staff members at one suburban station this week and the assistance offered at elevators and on platforms.
Queensland has a free hospital system which is of world-class standards and includes a comprehensive outpatients system for follow-up and even preventive care.
The Mater Hospital system was pioneered by the Sisters of Mercy in 1906. It is now part of Queensland public health system. Chapels are retained in the public hospitals.
Increases in gas and mineral royalties have kept the Queensland public sector vibrant without negative consequences for the wider economy.
Our Cardinal Francis Moran of Sydney (1830-1911) pioneered this style of social justice outreach.
There was nothing subversive about this preferential treatment for the largely Colonial Irish Catholic Church across Australia when Queen Victoria still ruled the British Empire in those times of imperial grandeur which drifted naively into war with Germany to the cheers of the mainstream media on both sides of the strategic divide.
The Holy Father’s commitment to peace today is quite miraculous. One superpower cannot go on spending the best part of one trillion dollars a year on weapons of mass destruction and related intelligence services in this Trump era with its MAGA Priorities.