Hello,

Can you tell me if theologian Gustavo Gutierrez is linked with the brand of liberation theology that was warned against by the Catholic Church? Is he linked with Leonardo Boff? How about Pablo Freire? Does the Church say anything about him? I'm taking a writing course at a state university, and Freire's pedagogy is part of it, especially regarding telling one's story. In the same book that mentions him, the authors are also moral relatists in that they believe that one's personal story makes one able and morally obligated to reform society, ie. the lesbian or homosexual male should live out what is honest, and there are no moral absolutes. The religious right is alluded to as a dominant, controlling positivism that must be revisited, resisted, and revised. Are the authors mis-using Freire, or is this thinking typical of Gutierrez and Freire? I have printed off the Vatican document on liberation theology, but I need to know if these guys (Gutierrez and Freire) are ok in and of themselves apart from the authors' views, or if G & F are warning signs that this is not a good thing. Our CAtholic school is in the process of linking with the writing institute. The writing process itself seems very useful and good, so can we separate the two issues and just go ahead and go for the writing part?

-- Juliana Davis (ifuthinkucanucan@alltel.net), May 07, 2004

Answers

Yes he is. See this article

-- Bill Nelson (bnelson45-nospam@hotmail.com), May 08, 2004.

You might find this thread helpful: http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl? msg_id=00BwFO

-- Emily ("jesusfollower7@yahoo.com), May 08, 2004.