Gustavo Gutiérrez

Gustavo Gutiérrez was a Peruvian Catholic priest and theologian whose 1971 book A Theology of Liberation helped establish liberation theology.

Liberation theology: A Christian theological movement that interprets faith through the struggle against oppression and poverty. Gutiérrez’s 1971 book helped give this movement its name and shape.
A Theology of Liberation: Gustavo Gutiérrez’s 1971 book presenting a systematic account of liberation as a theological theme. This work sets out the method and claims most closely associated with him.
Bartolomé de las Casas: A sixteenth-century Spanish Dominican who defended Indigenous peoples against colonial abuses in the Americas. Gutiérrez wrote extensively about his defense of Indigenous people and its religious foundations.
Instruction on Certain Aspects of the Theology of Liberation: A 1984 Vatican instruction warning against forms of liberation theology that adopted Marxist ideas uncritically. It framed the Vatican’s official scrutiny of the movement Gutiérrez helped establish.
Preferential option for the poor: A Christian ethical principle giving priority to the needs and dignity of poor people. Gutiérrez made this principle central to theological reflection and Christian practice.
Structural sin: Sin embodied in social arrangements that produce or sustain injustice and harm. Gutiérrez’s account extends moral analysis beyond individual wrongdoing to oppressive structures.
Leonardo Boff: A Brazilian theologian and former Franciscan priest associated with liberation theology. Boff developed a prominent Latin American liberation theology alongside Gutiérrez.
Instruction on Christian Freedom and Liberation: A 1986 Vatican instruction affirming Christian concern for liberation while distinguishing it from political ideologies. It offered a more affirmative account of liberation after the earlier doctrinal warning.
Catholic social teaching: The Catholic Church’s body of teaching on social, economic, and political life. Its concern for justice and human dignity informs Gutiérrez’s account of Christian responsibility.
Base ecclesial community: A small Christian community, often among poor people, combining worship, Bible study, and local action. Such communities embody the grassroots practice that liberation theology sought to strengthen.

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