Fr Gustavo Gutiérrez OP, a man of small physical stature but a towering giant theologically, died on Tuesday, October 22. Known as the Father of Liberation Theology, he was, like his Nazarene saviour, a father to the poor, the exploited and the downtrodden.
Last August, I discussed Fr Gutiérrez with the Archbishop of Lima, now Cardinal Designate Mgr Carlos Castillo Mattasoglio. I was part of the production team working on a video for the Synod of Bishops and we were discussing Mattasoglio’s contribution.
Knowing that Mattasoglio was a close friend of Gutiérrez, I asked him about his friend. “Gutiérrez lives close to where I live,” he told me. “I visit him regularly. His health is indeed weak.” I mentioned that Gutiérrez had visited Malta in 2003 and that I had interviewed him.
Mattasoglio promised to convey my best regards to Gutiérrez, although I was sure he would not remember an interview given on a small, distant island. However, I fondly remember his visit, thanks to the late Fr Joe Inguanez, then director of Discern, the Institute for the Research of the Signs of the Time.
Over a cup of coffee after addressing a packed audience at the Radisson SAS Bay Point Resort, we discussed a memory from his seminary days that he had shared with the audience.
He would visit the library to read theology books before bed, humorously noting that it was a good way to fall asleep.
He was struck by a particular sentence in a book about a theologian: “At the end of his life, he died.” He remarked with a touch of cynicism: “He didn’t have many choices at the end of his life!”
Throughout his life, he came to understand that the biographer’s comment held a deeper significance, likely unrecognised by the author.
Through his experiences, Gutiérrez realised that some people face death at the very start of their lives.
Poverty is the true killer, claiming the lives of countless individuals worldwide. Over a billion people live on less than a dollar a day, and five-sixths of the global population subsist on just one-fifth of the world’s resources.
He spoke passionately about the poor, having been brought up in a poor family himself.
Fr Gustavo Gutiérrez’s theology will continue to be a beacon of light and solace for the poor and the vulnerable- Fr Joe Borg
He told me that his father had been unemployed for a long time, which was hard on the family. When his father finally found work and received his first wages, he did not buy food and clothing for the family.
Instead, Gutiérrez’s face brightened as he recalled: “We somehow managed to eat and be clothed. So, my father bought us the nice things that other children had but we never had. We were so happy.”
This response might seem surprising, but, upon reflection, it makes a lot of sense.
The poor not only have the right to eat and dress decently but also to enjoy the things that brighten life and make them realise they deserve the same quality of life as everyone else. He added: “But remember that poverty is the first violence. God loves everyone, but He loves the poor most because they need more love since they are the weakest.”
When Gutiérrez turned 90, Pope Francis sent him birthday greetings:
“Thank you for your efforts and for your way of challenging everyone’s conscience, so that no one remains indifferent to the tragedy of poverty and exclusion.”
Gutiérrez’s theology will continue to be a beacon of light and solace for the poor and the vulnerable.
Anyone who writes the biography of Gutiérrez must ensure that the ending reads: At the end of his life, he lived.