Gustavo Gutiérrez-Merino Díaz OP (8 June 1928 – 22 October 2024) was a Peruvian philosopher, Catholic theologian, and Dominican priest who was one of the founders of liberation theology in Latin America.

His theological focus connected salvation and liberation through the preferential option for the poor, with an emphasis on improving the material conditions of the impoverished.

[14] It was also here where Gutiérrez was introduced to the Dominican and Jesuit ideologies, and was influenced by the work of Edward Schillebeeckx, Karl Rahner, Hans Küng, and Johann Baptist Metz.

[18] While studying in Europe, Gutiérrez was exposed to other, non-religious thinkers who had a profound impact on his ideology and the eventual formation of Latin American liberation theology.

[12] At the Faculty of Theology in Lyon, he studied Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud – on whom he did a philosophy licentiate at the University of Leuven – and evolutionary theorists traditionally opposed or discouraged by the church.

[19] Marx's discussion of class struggle and the material conditions of poverty provided Gutiérrez a framework for understanding socio-economic inequality.

[12] In his parish ministry, Gutiérrez was at one time pastor of the Iglesia Cristo Redentor (Church of Christ the Redeemer) in Rímac, Peru.

"[33] Explaining his solution to the poverty in Latin America, he wrote: "Only the complete destruction of the present state of things, the profound transformation of the ownership system, the coming to power of the exploited class, a social revolution will put an end to this dependency.

Gutiérrez also cited Che Guevara, and argued that "the current economic system is purposefully designed to funnel all its resources to the top, away from the oppressed masses beneath".

"[36] The main Marxist revolutionaries and intellectual that Gutiérrez cited and incorporated ideas from were José Carlos Mariátegui,[37] Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Che Guevara, Fidel Castro and Aníbal Quijano.

This Marxist “humanist” perspective that is focused on a social criticism of the reality is the one used by these theologians in order to elaborate a scientific approach to the causes of poverty and exclusion in Latin America.

The Institute, in its mission statement, sought to use theology as a means of addressing contemporary social issues and educating through research, engagement with lawmakers, and collaboration with grassroots organizations.

[40] After facing criticism for his work (including from Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne, the Archbishop of Lima), Gutiérrez left Peru and joined the Dominican Order near the turn of the millennium,[a] taking a teaching post at the University of Notre Dame in the United States.

[44] On the contrary, Gutiérrez understood poverty as "a way of living, of thinking, of loving, of praying, of believing and waiting, of spending free time, of fighting for life."

[44] The proclamation of the gospel in the midst of the unjust situation in Latin America leads to a praxis based on principles derived from the word of God.

[49] On 24 October, Gutiérrez was granted a public funeral at Basilica of the Most Holy Rosary, presided over by Archbishop of Lima Carlos Castillo Mattasoglio.

[51] Among those who spoke at his funeral were UNEC national advisor and Chiclayo leader Yolanda Díaz, cartoonist Juan Acevado and Provincial Superior of the Dominicans of Peru Fr.

[citation needed] Arthur F. McGovern identifies liberation theology as an anomaly within theologian fields, arguing such discourse is generally limited to academic circles and that such theories can have considerable and tangible impact on Latin America's socioeconomic conditions.

[citation needed] Liberation theology was intended as a call to all believers in Latin America to act on the biblical commitment to the poor.

[citation needed] Gutiérrez's message on material and economic conditions serves to place inequality in both religious and political discourse.

[citation needed] His friends included the German theologian Gerhard Ludwig Müller, the former Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

[citation needed] Müller, after studying his thought, stated: "The theology of Gustavo Gutiérrez, how it is considered, is orthodox because it is orthopractic and teaches us the correct Christian way of acting, since it derives from authentic faith.

"[54] On his 90th birthday, in 2018, Pope Francis thanked him for his contributions "to the church and humanity through your theological service and your preferential love for the poor and discarded of society.

For example, once in the 1970s in Córdoba, Argentina, he refused to begin his lecture until Father Jerónimo Podestá, a fellow liberation theologian who argued for the right of priests to marry, left the room.

[58] In 1984, the Holy See, under Pope John Paul II, criticized aspects of liberation theology, taking particular issue with its use of Marxist economic theory.

[19] According to Arthur F. McGovern, assessing the movement and its critics is complicated by the fact that it became the subject of popular controversy outside of theological and academic circles, including stories and advertisements in the popular press that evoked passionate responses by identifying liberation theology with Communism and fear of radicalism in Latin American politics.