In November 1969, at an international theological conference cosponsored by the World Council of Churches (WCC), a Roman Catholic priest from Peru, in his early 40s, presented a paper in which theology was surprisingly envisaged as a critical analysis of the Christian presence in the world in light of Revelation. The paper raised the question of the relationship between salvation in Christ and the human struggles for emancipation in history. How does the Christian church engage in a dialogue of salvation with Latin American people in search for emancipation not only from sin and egoism, but also from systemic oppression? The priest’s name was Gustavo Gutiérrez Merino, and the paper was an advanced outline of a book that would soon mark a great step forward in the decolonisation and contextualisation of the reflection on Christian faith in Latin America and indeed around the world: Teología de la Liberación: Perspectivas (A Theology of Liberation), originally published in Spanish in Lima in 1971. WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay described Gutiérrez as “an outstanding theologian and pastor in the Latin American context whose contributions have impacted many parts and people in the world." “I was first acquainted with the work of Gutiérrez when I went to study theology at the University as part of my preparation as a student for the ministry. I remember reading his renowned book on liberation theology, and I was completely mesmerised and overwhelmed by his ability to put into theological words and description what we were feeling in South Africa under the oppressive system of apartheid,” said Pillay. “We thank God for his life and contributions, for his humility and service, and his profound gifts in helping us to understand God`s preferential option of the poor and the need for liberation from systemic evil and oppression. May his soul rest in peace and rise in glory.” Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, WCC moderator, received the news of the passing of Gutiérrez with sadness. “His theology has very much influenced my life. In 1985, in a weeklong seminar with him during my studies in Berkeley, I not only learned a lot about his theology but also experienced the authenticity of his thinking in him as a person,” he said. “He lived the inseparable connection between theology and praxis, which was so important for his theology. Gutiérrez was a true follower of Christ. I praise God for his life,” added Bedford-Strohm. Born in old downtown Lima, Peru, in June 1928, Gutiérrez’s early years were marked by two experiences that made him very sensitive to issues of life and death: one was poverty, sometimes bordering on hunger, in his own family; the other was a disability, caused by osteomyelitis, which kept him virtually immobilised throughout his adolescence. After five years studying medicine at San Marcos National University, Lima, Gutiérrez accepted the call to priesthood. The study of humanities and theology took him successively to Santiago de Chile, Louvain, Lyon, and Rome. Throughout his life, Gutiérrez was first and foremost a pastor and only, secondly, a theologian. “The path to be a Christian,” he wrote, “is the foundation of the direction to follow to do theology. Our spirituality is our methodology.” The silence of contemplation and prayer and the practice centred on inhabiting the world of the poor preceded and conditioned for him the word of theological reflection. When the poor “die before the time of dying”, he noted in The Power of the Poor in History, it makes sense to reflect on the kingdom of the living God. Chaplaincy among catholic university students, pastoral work in deprived quarters of Lima, and the accompaniment of base ecclesial communities then flourishing throughout Latin America led to the establishment in 1974 of Instituto Bartolomé de Las Casas, a space of research and lay theological formation named after a 16th century Dominican who condemned and resisted to the cruel treatment of native populations by the Spanish settlers. Like de Las Casas, Gutiérrez had adversaries. He joined the Dominican order in 1999. Former WCC president from Latin America and the Caribbean Rev. Ofelia Ortega said that Gutiérrez taught a new way of doing theology, where liberation is announced from three perspectives: historical, political, and theological. “Our gratitude to the life and work of the theologian and pastor who taught us through his life and work the perspective of liberation from all forms of oppression, and in more concrete terms, the liberation of all the oppressed,” she said “In 1974, Gutiérrez surprised us with a formulation that masterfully encapsulates his theological thinking: ‘The poor are understood not in isolation but as members of a culture that is not respected, of a race that is discriminated against, and of a social class that is exploited,’ ” remembered Ortega. Gutiérrez’s theology expressed itself in a variety of styles: in sustained dialogue with Scriptures as in On Job: God-Talk and the Suffering of the Innocent; in the formulation of a renewed spirituality as in We Drink from Our Own Wells: the Spiritual Journey of a People, in which human liberation rooted in the encounter with God is approached from the perspective of Scriptures and the witness of saints, and its main characteristics are described; and in historical studies, as in a book with a theological self-explanatory title: Dios o el oro en las Indias – Siglo XVI (God or the Gold in the Indies, 16th century), which manifests the idolatrous potential of orthodoxy without compassion for the vulnerable. Some of the main themes and concerns of Gutiérrez’s theology resonated with ongoing initiatives of the ecumenical movement in Latin America during the 1960s and the 1970s, through the youth ecumenical movement, the student Christian movement, and particularly the movement Iglesia y Sociedad en America Latina, which sought to gather Christians, churches, and social movements in the region around an anti-imperialist and revolutionary agenda, and to which were associated in its first years Protestant theologians as Richard Shaull, Julio de Santa Ana, and Rubem Alves. Rev. Dr Walter Altmann, former WCC moderator and author of the bestselling publication Luther and Liberation, was deeply moved by the news of Gutiérrez’s decease. “I am one of the countless Christians and theologians who have been shaped to a wide extent by his groundbreaking book Liberation theology – perspectives. The word ‘perspectives’ may have been a rather humble proposal,” he said. “Along his whole life Gutiérrez remained faithful to his assertion that the commitment towards the poor is central to the Christian faith. His death may symbolically represent the end of a most significant chapter in Latin American and worldwide theology, but the centrality of this commitment for Christian faith remains untouched,” added Altmann. Instituto Bartolomé de Las Casas | 
No comments:
Post a Comment