Father of liberation theology, a tiny man with a giant legacy, dead at 96

ROME – In February 2014, a scene unfolded in Rome that struck many observers as akin to the end of history. A conservative German prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith sat on a Vatican stage, sporting a Peruvian poncho and showering praise upon the father of liberation theology in Latin America — a man who, once upon a time, was virtually the Vatican’s Public Enemy Number One.

That Roman night, which united Cardinal Gerhard Müller with his longtime friend Father Gustavo Gutiérrez, marked an official rehabilitation of sorts for Gutiérrez. The outcome later was given an exclamation point when Pope Francis sent the aging Dominican a note praising his “theological service” on the occasion of his 90th birthday in June 2018.

Read the full article.