Gustavo Gutiérrez, ‘father of liberation theology,’ dies at 96

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 23, 2024 / 04:35 am

Gustavo Gutiérrez Merino, the Peruvian Dominican priest considered the ”father” of liberation theology, died Oct. 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 Father Rómulo Vásquez Gavidia, OP, 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 orthodox expressions 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 [then-Congregation for 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 in Belgium and the Institut Catholique of Lyon in France.

Gutiérrez served as the John Cardinal O’Hara Endowed professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. His books have been translated into multiple languages.

John Cavadini, the former head of Notre Dame’s theology department, recruited Gutiérrez to his post.

“Unlike a number of liberation theologians, Father Gustavo was concerned to remain with the boundaries of orthodox Catholic faith and ecclesial discipline. As a result, he expanded ecclesial sensibilities in ways that permanently affected, you could say, developed, Catholic social teaching and beyond that, into its theological presuppositions,” Cavadini told the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, on Wednesday.

“Father Gustavo practiced what he preached,” Cavadini added. “He always worked with the poor, offering catechesis and connection with the Fathers of the Church and Thomas Aquinas (among others), adapted for their educational level whatever it might be. May he rest in peace!”

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.”

Jonathan Liedl of the National Catholic Register contributed to this report.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.