Dominican priest, Father Gustavo Gutierrez, the father of Liberation Theology, passed away on October 22, 2024. Gutierrez’s ideas have shaped modern theology including that of Pope Francis. He believes that every modern theology points to the gospels and their relevance to our lives.
Gutierrez grew up in Lima, Peru, where imperialism reared its head in his country. Francisco Pizzaro invaded with the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century, conquering the indigenous Incan people. From its inception, Lima was a country that enjoyed the riches of the Spanish oligarchs and their insatiable desire for silver in the region led to a population growth in the 17th century. The establishment of trade routes led to a prosperous country in some regards, but as oligarchs discovered the riches of the land their greed was responsible for the suffering of countless people including the indigenous people.
Lima’s history was close to the heart of Gutierrez and expresses itself in his theology. He’s fully aware of the Hegalian concepts of the progressive nature of history when addressing the current power struggles and development of a praxis to overcome the imposition of dominant world powers. Imperialism’s quest of the West that would form the “banana republics” in Latin America would play out and Gutierrez’s participation in a Bishop’s conference in Medalline, Columbia led to the development of a new theology that focused its attention on the poor.
Heavily influenced by the Vatican II document “Gaudium et Spes,” Gutierrez focuses his theology on the central point of the document:
“The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ.”
He also initiated texts from Pope Paul VI’s encyclical “Popularum Progressio,” developing points that were briefly addressed. It led to the landmark book “The Theology of Liberation.”
Church leaders in the Curia couldn’t really grasp what Gutierrez was trying to do in centering his attention completely on the poor and asserting the Option for the Poor and Vulnerable as a central tenet of Catholic social justice theology. His views were influential and although he was not censored by church officials, Cardinal Ratzinger, who would later become Pope Benedict, led the charge against what he saw as “Marxist views” working their way into his work. Gutierrez was later cleared by the office of Doctrine of Faith for his views.
Politics and religion are intertwined in the zeitgeist of a society. Like Jesus, Gutierrez could not ignore the economic hardships that were leading to the oppression of people. Looking back and seeing how his theology influenced the likes of Rutilio Grande and ultimately people like Bishop Oscar Romero, and Bishop Alvarez of Nicaragua, he was right in doing so, and his theology although at times was taken to extremes by certain priests and nuns in Latin America, it became the conscience of leaders there and reminded them that the central message of the gospels was to proclaim the good news to the poor and to help them work for change.
The cash crops of coffee, bananas and other fruits that grow in tropical environments, enabled people in the north to make fortunes on the backs of the poor. Although workers were breaking their backs to make a living, they were still living in indecent living conditions and unable to make a livable wage. Gutierrez wrote about this injustice in his books.
We Drink From Our Own Wells: The Spiritual Journey of A People, On Job: God-Talk and the Suffering of the Innocent, The Truth Shall Make You Free, The God of Life, and Las Casas: In Search of the Poor of Jesus Christ.
Gutierrez asserted, “Poverty is a sin” and the systems that create poverty need to be rooted out or changed to acknowledge the basic needs of the poor.
“The Bible is not speaking about poverty, it is talking about the poor.” This is a very important point because Gustavo is pointing to a human centered problem. Two important points he made in recent years are the following: First, “Poverty is a complex fact.”
What is “complex” about poverty? It an economic reality and influences culture. It also extends itself to racial, sexual and social identity. An individual’s rights are compromised as a result of the undermining of their rights through systemic oppression. Who are the people in a society who do not have rights? Those who are not recognized in society as having a right to rights.
The second point he makes about poverty is that poverty is the result of the human process. We have made poverty. “Poverty is not a destiny, it is an injustice.” Guitierrez reminds us that justice is a central point in the Bible.
Guiterrez’s recognition of poverty’s roots in identifying other problems gets to the heart of our reality in creating more problems for the world. Although his writing is dense and sophisticated in thought, his revolutionary thinking is quite simple and a reminder that the human systems we create need to be centered on the person and this informs our Christology. We are a product of the systems we create. When we endeavor to meet the needs of another, we are changed as a result of it.
The more we isolate from others, the more we deny the suffering of others, the more we refuse to answer the questions of poverty, the greater the injustice we are creating. Human history has proven this.
Tapping into the “signs of the times” is critical to addressing the problems of poverty in the human condition. Our unwillingness to address the disparity between classes and races leads to a chasm of injustice that cannot be fixed.
The liberation of the poor is central to the gospels. Sometimes theology distracts us from the most critical issues at hand. Jesus was clear on this. “I came to bring good news to the poor.”
In recent years Pope Francis elevated the position of Gutierrez calling him “a great man for the Church.” Pope Francis said, “He knew how to remain silent when he needed to remain silent. He knew how to suffer when he needed to suffer.” Most importantly, Gutierrez knew scripture and lived it well. In a time where churches preach the abundant nature of Jesus and the “gospel of wealth,” we need Gutierrez’s message more than ever.
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