In memoriam: Rev. Gustavo Gutiérrez, O.P., renowned Notre Dame theologian, father of ‘liberation theology’
In his 1971 book “A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics, and Salvation,” the Peruvian Dominican priest and University of Notre Dame theologian Gustavo Gutiérrez called on Christians to accompany and learn from the impoverished among us, significantly advancing the concept known as the preferential option for the poor.
Now, more than 50 years later, Father Gutiérrez’s landmark volume and the liberation theology movement he inspired has more than stood the test of time and is regarded by many as one of the 100 most important theological works of the 20th century. In 2021, Michael E. Lee, who earned Notre Dame graduate degrees under Father Gutiérrez and is now a professor of theology at Fordham University, put it this way: “In the way that it offers both a diagnosis of our world’s ills and a vision for the way that the church can help transform them, ‘A Theology of Liberation’ remains as relevant today as it was half a century ago.”
Rev. Gustavo Gutiérrez, O.P., professor emeritus of theology at Notre Dame and widely regarded as the “father of liberation theology,” died Tuesday (Oct. 22) in Lima, Peru. He was 96.
Courtesy of Notre Dame News
