Scholars praise Fr. The prophetic vision of Gustavo Gutiérrez, theological influence

Dominic described himself as “deeply moved by the news of his passing” and said that Gutiérrez’s “legacy lives on in all who work for justice and liberation.”

In an interview with NCR, Rev. Kelly Brown Douglasthe canon theologian at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., similarly said that Gutiérrez’s work had enormous reach. Even those theologians who did not place the poor at the center of their theology could not ignore the issue of economic poverty and injustice after Gutiérrez’s contributions, she said.

“He pointed out that poverty is not simply an economic problem. It is a moral problem” – an insight, she said, that is more relevant than ever.

She added, “You couldn’t ignore Gustavo Gutiérrez,” calling him “a paradigm changer.”

In one message to staff of Orbis Books, editor and publisher Robert Elsberg said that “apart from his historic contributions to the Church in Latin America and the rise of liberation theology,” Gutiérrez’s work and the theology he inspired “fundamentally transformed the work of theology in North America and around the world .”

Orbis, the publishing house of the Maryknoll Societypublished Gutiérrez’s work in English.

Ellsberg added that Gutiérrez’s theological project “is palpable not only in the church’s embrace of the ‘preferential option for the poor,’ but in the many schools of contextual, postcolonial, and liberation theologies that have emerged around the world.” “

The publisher of Orbis noted that Gutiérrez’s work was often “subject to vilification and scathing criticism, both by many church officials and even by political figures.” But, he said, Gutiérrez “was patient and diligent in defending his work against his critics.” Although the Peruvian theologian was for a long time the subject of investigation by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, ‘he was ultimately never treated with defamation’.

A survey of Gutiérrez’s writings makes it clear why: they were always imbued with a deep sense of spirituality. We drink from our own springs: the spiritual journey of a peoplepublished in Spanish in 1983 and then published in English a year later by Orbis ends as follows:

Spirituality is a community endeavor. It is the journey of a people through the loneliness and dangers of the desert, as they forge their own path in following Jesus Christ. This spiritual experience is the source from which we must drink. From this we draw the promise of the resurrection.

Gutiérrez “even lived to see some vindication,” Ellsberg noted, along with the conservative prefect of the Vatican’s doctrinal body, the German archbishop from 2012-2017. Gerhard Mullerand became a “fan” and collaborated with Gutiérrez on the book On the side of the poor.

Furthermore, on the occasion of Gutiérrez’s 90th birthday in 2018, Ellsberg noted that Pope Francis sent Gutiérrez festive greetings, thanking the Dominican priest “for what you have contributed to the Church and humanity through your theological service and your preferential love for the poor and discarded of the world. society.”

In an introduction to a 50th anniversary edition of A theology of liberationGutiérrez acknowledged the various criticisms of liberation theology. But he was also proud of the impact of theology, noting that it had been “welcomed by many with sympathy and hope and has contributed to the vitality of countless enterprises in the service of Christian witness.”

Gutiérrez said the debate over liberation theology within the Catholic Church sometimes caused “painful moments on a personal level, usually for reasons that eventually disappear.”

But, Gutiérrez said, he welcomed the debate as an “enriching spiritual experience,” saying it “proved to be an opportunity to profoundly renew our fidelity to the Church in which we all as a community believe and hope in the Lord.” and to reaffirm our solidarity with the poor, those privileged members of the kingdom of God.”

It was that solidarity that the University of Notre Dame celebrated on October 23 online memorial tribute. Gutiérrez taught at Notre Dame from 2001 to 2018 and was professor emeritus of theology at the time of his death.

“Father Gustavo was a beloved member of the Notre Dame community, and we join his family and fellow Dominicans in thanking God for his extraordinary life,” said Fr. Robert Dowda Father of Holy Cross and President of Notre Dame.

“His valuable contributions as a scholar and theologian and his commitment as a priest to live out the call of the Gospel are an inspiration to us all,” Dowd said.

In the memorial tribute to Notre Dame, Holy Cross Fr. Daniel Groodya professor of theology and global affairs and vice president and associate provost for undergraduate education, said of Gutiérrez: “The heart of A theology of liberation is God’s love, God’s life and God’s creation. What mattered most to Gustavo was not liberation theology, but the liberation of people. He combined a deep sense of the undeserved gift of God’s love with the urgency of solidarity with those whom society deems least important.”

Another American institution, Union Theological Seminary in New York City similarly praised the Peruvian theologian, who was a visiting professor there during the 1976-77 academic year.

In one statementThe Rev. Serene Jones, president of Union, said Gutiérrez’s passing “represents a tremendous loss to our community and the broader universe. The incredible legacy of Dr. Gutierrez lives on at Union and beyond through the many lives he continues to impact through his groundbreaking vision for the empowerment of the world’s most marginalized and oppressed communities.”

Jones noted that liberation theology came “to contextualize the experiences of the poor, oppressed, and oppressed.” She said the late was one of Union’s most famous scholars James Conea leading figure in the development of black liberation theology, recognized that that theology was “a continuation of the conversations that Gutiérrez started.”

Brown Douglas, a doctoral candidate of Cone at Union, said Gutiérrez’s work in those conversations was sometimes criticized by black and feminist theologians for its limitations in discussing race and gender issues. But, she added, Gutiérrez recognized these limitations and should be commended for developing the paradigm that made such criticism possible.

“I don’t think any less of him because of what he hasn’t said,” Brown Douglas said. “It’s what he said that matters. He gave us the paradigm to critique and do theology in a new way.”

She added, “Our job is to practice theology and push the boundaries that he started pushing.”

Said in an interview David Lantiguaassociate professor of theology at Notre Dame and co-director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism, said one of the “real and lasting contributions of Gutiérrez’s work is to really think about whether the option for the poor and the perspective of the poor in history. It has universal, global implications.”

He said the work of Gutiérrez and other liberation theologians in the early 1970s were early critiques of an emerging global neoliberal capitalism — critiques that have since been embraced by the Vatican.

In the statement from Union Seminary, the Rev. Sam Cruz, professor of religion and society, said: “Gutiérrez prophetically called us to see how capitalism is killing people around the world and how we can adopt a preferential option for the poor. With his passing in the times we are in now, I am encouraged to live his words even more true and carry on his prophetic legacy.”

Lantigua, who studied with Gutiérrez as a doctoral student at Notre Dame, said that while the critique of capitalism was a cornerstone of Gutiérrez’s thinking, the portrayal of Gutiérrez’s work as politically driven “was not an accurate representation of his theology.”

Instead, he said, it was based on the idea of ​​a “concrete encounter of the God of history through the poor, and being evangelized by the poor. This was essential for Gustavo.”

Ellsberg said Gutiérrez was easily Orbis’ best-selling author over the past 50 years. A theology of liberationwith 92,757 copies distributed over three editions, it remains his best-selling book. That would be followed, Ellsberg said, by We drink from our own sourceswith sales of 49,764 copies, and On trackat 44,685.

As Ellsberg proudly recounted these figures, he said, “Those who knew Gustavo knew that he was one of the kindest, humblest, and most faithful disciples of Jesus we have ever known. A brave, brilliant and holy man.’

Lantigua agreed, remembering his mentor as “incredibly humble. He was incredibly approachable. That was the way he was about him. He had a peace and joy about him that stood out.”

For Gutiérrez, “theology was a way of life,” best done in the company of friends, Lantigua said. “He was sincere, simple and (showed) an endearing kind of friendship.”

“His humanity,” Brown Douglas said, “was always evident in his theology.”