Gustavo Gutiérrez
Giving thanks for the life and witness of Gustavo Gutiérrez , priest and prophet. Having read A Theology of Liberation as an undergraduate, after college, I travelled to Peru to live in Rimac, and spend time at the Instituto Bartolomé de Las Casas , which recently celebrated 50 years of committed research and community support. I met Gutiérrez on a few occasions, always in a rush, always full of energy and focus. 'Come down from the tree (Zacchaeus) and get involved,' he encouraged us. And at mass he urged us to take the bread 'on foot and in haste.' I am thankful for his lifelong commitment to those struggling, on the margins of society. For his love of literature . For his research into Bartolomé de las Casas , reminding us of earlier traditions of bearing witness to injustice, and generating fresh communities of commitment . My prayers for all who grieve him, for friends across Latin America who have lost a friend, colleague, guide.
