The group was predominantly composed of Roman Catholic members of the Christian left who were inspired and spurred on by the Second Vatican Council.
López Trujillo, the General Secretary of the Latin American Episcopal Conference at the time, considers Giulio Girardi [es; it] a major leader of CpS.
[18] Another prominent leader was the Salesian priest Lidia Menapace, who was also a significant figure in the Italian Catholic resistance during World War II.
In 1972, 400 members met for a week at a textile union hall, urging "class struggle [as] the only valid course to necessary social change in Latin America.
[15] This event was a significant convergence where black, feminist, and third-world anti-imperialist movements joined together and recognized each other as peers in the same process of liberation, while also strongly critiquing one another.
[25]Left-leaning priests from Brazil and Bolivia were supportive but unable to participate in gatherings due to severe police control.
[27] In their letter condemning the movement, the bishops there argued that while the church speaks to "politics insofar as it underlies every social reality", it should not be involved in "partisan activity".
[31] Many of the grassroots members of CpS, especially those in poorer areas faced imprisonment, torture and death at the hands of the Pinochet regime.