The Council for World Mission (CWM) extends its heartfelt condolences to the Church and liberation movements worldwide on the passing of the esteemed liberation theologian Gustavo Gutierrez at the age of 96.
“To place oneself in the perspective of the Kingdom means to participate in the struggle for the liberation of those oppressed by others. This is what many Christians who have committed themselves to the Latin American revolutionary process have begun to experience”. (Gustavo Gutierrez, A Theology of Liberation, p. 192).
Gustavo Gutierrez understood the mission of the Church through the eyes of the poor and oppressed. A Theology of Liberation is a seminal text for liberation movements across the world. His life and work continue to shape liberation movements globally, inspiring the CWM’s ongoing commitment to life-flourishing communities.
Gutierrez pastored to the poor in Lima, Peru. His work was inspired by the Peruvian indigenous socialist thinker Jose Carlos Mariategui, and his writings profoundly inspired feminist, black, womanist, indigenous, ecological and decolonial movements. His commitment to the poor and his way of doing theology was criticised and censured by the Church. He responded by telling the Church, the truth shall set you free.
The search for freedom and liberation were understood as being deeply intertwined by Gutierrez and other theologians of his generation. His later interest in Bartholomew de las Casas led Gutierrez to write a book critiquing colonial narratives and projects, particularly the conquistadores. In Search of the Poor reframed Chrisian missiology from the perspective of indigenous and enslaved peoples in the Americas.
CWM has been committed to the decolonisation of mission since 1977. Its work is largely inspired by Gustavo Gutierrez’s missiology of the poor and oppressed. Rev. Dr Jooseop Keum, the CWM General Secretary, said, “Gustavo Gutierrez was a prophet of our time, whose theology was not only a call to conscience but a revolutionary praxis. He reminded the Church that true liberation comes when we walk with the oppressed, and his legacy will continue to challenge and inspire the global mission of justice and peace.”