Fr. Gustavo Gutiérrez, champion of the poor, dies aged 96
Vatican news
Father Gustavo Gutiérrez, who died at the age of 96, invited the Church to reconsider its role in a world marked by social inequalities and to become more involved in the defense of the weak.
By Joseph Tulloch
Father Gustavo Gutiérrez was a pioneer of liberation theology, a movement advocating social justice and the liberation of the poor.
He died on the night of Tuesday October 22, at the age of 96.
Emerging in the 1960s in response to massive social inequality in Latin America, liberation theology emphasized that the Christian faith must address the social problems of poverty and exclusion in order to remain credible.
Fr. Gutiérrez’s 1971 book A theology of liberation was fundamental to this movement and profoundly shaped theological thought in Latin America and beyond.
Father Gustavo Gutiérrez
“Poverty is death”
Fr. Gutiérrez was born in Peru in 1928 and initially studied medicine before turning to philosophy, psychology and theology.
He was ordained a priest in 1959 and entered the Dominican Order in 1999.
For decades he taught at the Catholic University of Lima, focusing on the social challenges facing people in his country and throughout Latin America.
In an interview with Vatican Radio in 2015, Fr. Gutiérrez emphasized that concern for the poor is at the heart of the Christian message.
“Poverty is death,” he said, “it destroys people and families. The Church understands this better than in the past.”
“One of the greatest theologians of our time”
One of the most charming stories about Fr. Gutiérrez was his friendship with German theologian Cardinal Gerhard Müller, former head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith – the same office that had once expressed concerns about certain aspects of theology of liberation.
Cardinal Müller spoke to Vatican News about the death of his friend, whom he called “one of the great theologians of our time.”
A challenge for the Church
Liberation theology has had a tremendous impact on the Catholic Church and society. He challenged the Church to reconsider its role in a world marked by social inequalities and to become more involved in the defense of the weak.
In this and many other ways, Fr. Gustavo Gutiérrez’s legacy endures.
Father Father Gustavo Gutiérrez a few months before his death
Vatican news
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