IN AN era marked by stark inequalities and a cry for justice, a Dominican from Latin America dared to challenge the Church to step beyond the pulpit and to immerse itself into the heart of society’s struggles.
It was in the late 1960s when liberation theology emerged and called on Christians to embody faith through action by fighting poverty, exclusion and oppression. However, it took some time before the groundbreaking work that laid its foundation was born.
The 1971 book “A Theology of Liberation” by Peruvian Dominican Fr. Gustavo Gutiérrez, O.P. would become the most important resource of the controversial theological thought.
Today, liberation theology continues to spark debates. It is viewed as a beacon of hope by its adherents but is dismissed as a heresy that distracts the clergy from their spiritual role by its critics.
Gutiérrez, who has been hailed as one of the most influential theologians of our time, was born on June 8, 1928 at the Montserrat barrio of Lima. He had dedicated his life to serving and protecting the poor, having seen firsthand their living conditions when he served as a parish priest in Rímac, an impoverished district in the Peruvian capital.
Gutiérrez died on Oct. 22, 2024 at the ripe age of 96, but his legacy lives on among groups and intellectuals who believe that the Church should play a more active role in addressing inequalities and other social ills.
It is no surprise that Gutiérrez’s view of the Church resonated even among some thinkers in faraway Philippines, a country that has achieved high economic growth but continues to grapple with poverty, bureaucratic inefficiencies and lack of opportunities.
UST Faculty of Sacred Theology instructor and Dominican sociologist Fr. Delfo Canceran, O.P., said liberation theology enabled him to understand the importance of tackling the root causes of poverty. He argued that temporary solutions only perpetuate social injustices and keep people in strained circumstances.
“They have to shift to liberation as the key to understanding and also freeing people from the bandits of poverty,” Canceran told The Flame, adding that liberation theology has a transformative power that goes beyond surface-level relief and pushes for systematic change.
“Theology is now a reflection of praxis…it’s a reflection of what people are doing,” the Dominican sociologist added.
Kej Andres, the chairperson of the Student Christian Movement of the Philippines, an organization that claims to promote youth activism that is rooted in Christian principles, said Gutiérrez’s teachings guided him in his journey to social movements and deepened his understanding of the faith.
“Kasabay diyan ‘yung pagiging involved ko din sa mga social movements, dahil doon ko nakikita yung practice ng pananampalataya, ‘yung paghahangad na maitaguyod yung langit dito mismo sa lupa,” Andres said.
(Alongside that, my involvement in social movements reflects my practice of faith, the desire to establish heaven right here on earth.)
True faith, according to Andres, is standing in solidarity with the marginalized, especially within the Philippine context.
“From that point on, along with my past experiences, I realized that faith is actually very relevant to life, particularly in the pursuit of a more just world for the poor,” he added.
More than 60% of Latin America’s population during the time of Gutiérrez lived in extreme poverty and struggled to access even the most basic necessities like food, clean water and shelter. This was worsened by the oppressive regimes of some of the countries in the region.
Through “A Theology of Liberation,” Gutiérrez challenged the traditional Church teachings that centered on spiritual salvation. According to him, true faith must find expression through action directed toward the rectification of systemic injustices and the amelioration of the material conditions of the poor. He is also famous for articulating the idea of God’s “preferential option for the poor,” arguing that God is aligned, above all, with those who suffer from economic and social injustices.
Change in consciousness
This pursuit of justice — a vision of “heaven on earth” achieved through unity with the oppressed — embodies the heart of liberation theology. Such a vision continues to guide and inspire those who believe that faith must be accompanied with action.
UST Faculty of Sacred Theology professor and former vice rector for religious affairs Fr. Virgilio Ojoy, O.P. said Gutiérrez’s teachings have shaped his understanding of social justice within the Church.
“It has influenced me very much because I wrote my dissertation on Gustavo Gutiérrez. [His teachings are present] in my preaching, and in my work of helping poor families,” he said.
Ojoy’s dissertation on Gutierrez’s work, “Traces of Humanistic Marxism in Gustavo Gutierrez’s Theology of Liberation,” tackles how his deep engagement with these ideas shaped his ministry. He believes Gutiérrez’s work has changed the consciousness of the Church regarding its mission.
“The basic ecclesial communities are rooted in the theology of liberation. This current emphasis on synodality — we can see seeds of it in Gustavo Gutiérrez’s theology,” the sacred theology professor said.
Canceran echoed the sentiments, noting that “Theology of Liberation,” remains influential across the globe.
“It’s not limited to Latin America anymore. It was adopted in other continents. It metamorphosed into different forms like liberation theology for feminism, liberation theology for race,” he said.
Canceran and Ojoy said addressing systemic injustices is central to their ministry as liberation theology encourages a return to historical realities.
“The underdevelopment of countries is because of the development of many other countries… that kind of system is entrenched,” Ojoy said.
“Theology is now a reflection of praxis — it’s a reflection of what people are doing,” Canceran said.
Lasting influence
According to Andres, Gutiérrez’s legacy inspires ongoing efforts to engage actively with societal issues. He said the late Dominican’s writings show how true liberation should go beyond the spiritual to include material and economic dimensions.
“It comes from what is said in the Gospel of Matthew that whatever you do for the least of these, you do for Christ,” he said, emphasizing that Christ is seen most clearly among the oppressed.
Canceran said he had embraced liberation theology as a practical framework to view faith through two lenses: one fixed on the Biblical Jesus, the other on the harsh realities of poverty.
Recalling the Martial Law period in the Philippines, Canceran said many priests and nuns adopted the practices of liberation theology by risking their lives to resist oppression.
“In the Philippines, during the time of Marcos, the Martial Law. Many nuns and priests fought and died. So, that was the practice; it’s not anymore abstraction, but practice. So, back to history, back to the earth, back to reality is what the liberation theologists did, specifically Gustavo Gutiérrez,” he said.
Liberation theology, which calls for a union with the oppressed, inspired some religious figures to resist social injustices and authoritarianism, often at great personal risk. They organized protests, offered sanctuary to political activists and became vocal advocates for human rights.
One well-known anecdote involves priests and nuns who offered shelter to activists in convents and seminaries, turning the religious spaces into safe havens from military raids. Another story recounts how some members of the clergy participated in peaceful demonstrations and marches and placed themselves between civilians and police forces as a way to de-escalate tensions and prevent violence
Figures like Sr. Mary John Mananzan and former priest Luis Jalandoni are just a few examples of clergy who used their status to resist injustices, an action inspired by liberation theology. Mananzan is a former chair of the Gabriela women’s group and national chairperson of the Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines while Jalandoni was the chief negotiator of the National Democratic Front.
“Through protest movements and solidarity with the poor, those are their topics. In fact, they even accept violence as a last resort. That’s why there are also those who go underground,” Canceran said.
“It’s not anymore abstraction, but practice,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ojoy’s ministry demonstrates liberation theology by directing its resources to impoverished families.
“I have freed so many families from poverty…There’s a family in Capiz…They used to work in the sugar cane plantation with only P30 each per day. And now their children have escaped poverty; one is now in Australia, and the other is a teacher whose children are going to the best schools here in Manila,” Ojoy said.
For Ojoy, each family lifted from hardship is a testament to Gutiérrez’s legacy of faith in action.
“The whole morning would not be enough for me to tell you all about them,” he said.
Incompatible with Catholicism?
Gutiérrez’s liberation theology has stirred controversies, with some scholars criticizing his fusion of Catholicism with Marxist ideas that emphasize the material rather than the spiritual.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who would later on become Pope Benedict XVI, had described it as “a fundamental threat to the faith of the Church” that mixes “the Bible’s view of history with Marxist dialectics.”
In an instruction written in 1984, Ratzinger argued that atheism and the denial of the human person, his liberty and rights are at the core of Marxist theory, which contains errors that directly threaten the truths of the faith about the eternal destiny of individual persons. To attempt to integrate theology into an analysis whose criterion of interpretation depends on such an atheistic conception is to involve oneself in “terrible contradictions,” Ratzinger, then the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, wrote.
In 2022, Pope Francis was quoted by media reports as saying that the the use of Marxist concepts on the analysis of reality by liberation theology was an “ideological exploitation.”
Friar Clodovis Boff, who used to support liberation theology, blamed the movement for the declining influence of the Church. According to an article by Catholic Online, Boff is convinced that liberation theology’s singular focus on the marginalized has come at the expense of a Christ-centered foundation and has caused a decline in the Church’s faith and practice.
Ojoy explained that there are two kinds of Marxism: Dialectical Marxism and Humanistic Marxism, which was used by Gutierrez for liberation theology.
“[Humanistic Marxism] is where a man is [of] primogenial importance and therefore violence is not really being promoted, only as a last recourse when the people are really oppressed, and they have nowhere to go except to fight those that are in power,” the former vice rector said.
“Because both the doctrines of the church, the social teachings of the church and the humanistic Marxism in liberation theology, they all want the liberation of the human beings from dehumanizing and oppressive poverty,” he added.
Canceran and Andres argued that Marxist ideology was the most fitting framework in understanding poverty.
“In the past, philosophy was the most significant source borrowed by theologians. Now, we are more focused on social sciences,” Andres said, adding that early Christians also borrowed philosophies from the precursors of Christ like Plato and Aristotle.
The future of liberation technology
Ojoy expressed optimism that society could fight an unjust system if the people’s consciousness is raised.
“I think that the awareness can be easily propagated. And when people are aware, they cannot just be exploited,” he said.
Since classical liberation theology generally addresses poverty, it has transformed and has widened its reach, Canceran said. According to him, the issue of liberation is not just about poverty anymore.
“It is no longer limited to the question of poverty but other forms of marginalization of extrusion like…the question of race, the question of gender or sex, the question of environment,” he said.
While liberation theology continues to be attacked for mingling ideas that are perceived to be incompatible, its followers are certain that it would remain relevant as long as people who are created in the image and likeness of God are deprived of dignity.
”As long as our prayers cry out for justice and ask for justice and true development based on justice, liberation theology will exist and advance as a theology that will guide Christians on solving social problems in the light of the gospel,” Andres said. F – reports from Titus Dayrit, Samantha Crisha Garcia and Justine Nicole Malonzo
