Does Fr. Gutierrez Say Mass?

When John Paul II first went as pope to Latin America, he told their bishops, in Rocco Buttiglione’s summary, “We want a theology that is from the point of view from Latin American people. Fine. We want a theology that is written from the point of view of the Latin American poor. Even better! You think that you can produce this theology by using Marxism? That’s wrong. You need a different instrument to approach socio-economic realities from a point of view of a true liberation theology.”

Then, he said, with Fr. Francesco Ricci, a priest of Communion & Liberation, he spent time in Latin America to help those who wanted to create “a true liberation theology.”

I went around visiting different countries and when I came back, John Paul II invited me to one of his “working dinners.” In the end, he asked me: There is the theoretical side, but how is Gustavo Gutiérrez as a man? Does he say Mass? Does he pray the Rosary? Does he confess people? Yes? Then we must find another solution. After that came the second instruction on liberation theology, which made a distinction between true liberation theology and Marxist liberation theology.

Beyond the theoretical battles, which were serious ones, over how the relation of the Church to the world should be understood, was the man Pope John Paul II concerned about the man Father Gustavo Gutiérrez. The priest being a faithful Catholic priest, the pope wanted to speak to his concerns in a different way, a way that took them, not more seriously as he already took them seriously, but more empathetically, and therefore produced a deeper and wiser response.