caption religion birth_place nationality article_title birth_date known_for residence image employer name occupation
'' gutiérrez in 2007 '' christian -lrb- roman catholic -rrb- lima , peru peruvian gustavo gutiérrez
 08 june 1928 liberation theology , preferential option for the poor united states gustavo gutierrez.jpg university of notre dame gustavo gutiérrez , o.p. priest , professor
gustavo gutiérrez

gustavo gutiérrez merino , o.p. , -lrb- born 8 june 1928 in lima -rrb- is a peruvian theologian and dominican priest regarded as the founder of liberation theology .
he holds the john cardinal o'hara professorship of theology at the university of notre dame .
he began studying in the faculty of medicine of the national university of san marcos in peru in order to become a psychiatrist , then he realized he wanted to become a priest .
he has been professor at the pontifical catholic university of peru and a visiting professor at many major universities in north america and europe .
gutiérrez is also a member of the peruvian academy of language , and in 1993 he was awarded the legion of honor by the french government for his tireless work .
in 2002 gutiérrez was elected to the american academy of arts and sciences and in 2003 he received the prestigious príncipe de asturias award .
he has also published in and been a member of the board of directors of the international journal , `` concilium '' .
gutierrez spent much of his life living and working among the poor and oppressed of lima .
he has studied medicine and literature -lrb- peru -rrb- , psychology and philosophy -lrb- catholic university of leuven in belgium -rrb- , and obtained a doctorate at the institut pastoral d'etudes religieuses -lrb- iper -rrb- , catholic university of lyon .
gutiérrez is of native american heritage , being of mixed quechua and spanish descent .
gutiérrez 's groundbreaking work , `` a theology of liberation : history , politics , salvation '' -lrb- 1971 -rrb- , explains his notion of christian poverty as an act of loving solidarity with the poor as well as a liberatory protest against poverty .
