FR. GUSTAVO Gutiérrez, O.P., a Peruvian priest known as the “father of liberation theology” for being a champion of the poor and social justice, died on Oct. 22. He was 96.

His death was announced by the  Dominican Province of St. John the Baptist in Lima, Peru in a Facebook post.

A priest who later became a Dominican friar, Gutiérrez revolutionized Catholic theology with his landmark 1971 book “A Theology of Liberation,” which earned the ire of the Vatican.

In his book, he challenged the Church to play an active role in battling poverty, injustice, and social inequality rather than moving solely within traditional and pastoral roles.

He called for a “preferential option for the poor,” which earned the support of fellow Latin Americans in the 1960s and 1970s when the region was in turmoil from dictatorships and inequality. 

This preferential option became the central call of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines in 1991, the local church’s response to the reforms of Vatican 2.

Gutiérrez met criticism from conservative clergy and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, for the Marxist elements of his theology, despite his protestations that his teachings were rooted in the Bible.

An investigation into liberation theology was conducted by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith led by Ratzinger. Gutiérrez was cleared of any doctrinal error.

He joined the Dominican Order in 2001.

In 2002, Gutiérrez delivered a lecture at UST, where he urged the Church to embrace its role in uplifting the lives of the poor by helping the struggle against unjust social structures that perpetuate poverty.

READ: Church vital in solving poverty

He was bestowed the title Master of Sacred Theology, an honorary title given by the Dominican Order to its most distinguished scholars, in 2009 alongside renowned UST historian Fr. Fidel Villarroel, O.P.

When Pope Francis, a fellow Latin American, became the Pontiff, the tension between Gutiérrez and the Vatican died down. 

The Pontiff sent a letter to Gutiérrez for his 90th birthday in 2018. “[I thank you] for what you have contributed for the Church and humanity through your theological service and your preferential love for the poor and the discarded of society,” the Argentine pope said.

In a video message shown at Gutiérrez’s funeral, Pope Francis said the late Peruvian theologian “managed to carry forward so much apostolic fruit and such rich theology.”

Gutiérrez took up philosophy in Belgium and theology in France.

After obtaining his degrees, Gutiérrez returned to Peru, where he taught at the Catholic University of Lima for decades.

He was ordained a priest in 1959.

Gutiérrez’s remains were laid to rest at the Santo Domingo Monastery in Lima. Vince Alfred M. Pillagara

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