Hilary Regan – författare

Albert Nolan OP died in October of 2022 and in July 2023 a large book of 500 pages with over seventy contributors from around the world was launched in South Africa and then in various places: Australia (Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide), Oxford and Chicago. This volume brings together many of those launch speeches plus some other pieces.

The book was published by ATF Press and UJ Press in Johannesburg published it for Southern Africa. In May 2024 the editors of the book, Reluctant Prophet: Tributes to Albert Nolan OP, fellow Dominicans Mike Deeb, Philippe Denis and Mark James received a prize for the book. The book received the prestigious South African Andrew Murray-Desmond Tutu Prize for Theological Publications. The book had been submitted by Wikus Van Zyl of UJ Press and was one of the seven short listed books from an original twenty-seven titles from fifteen publishers. The judges said that the book offered ‘a comprehensive view of a life’s journey for our time, and a freeing message of Christ to act fairly in today’s world’.

The cover of this volume is a photo from the book prize ceremony in Cape Town and brings together many of the speeches at the launches from July 2023 to December 2023, plus the acceptance speech by Mike Deeb OP at the ceremony in Cape Town, plus other pieces written about the book.

In October 2022 Albert Nolan OP, who had been a chaplain to Catholic students in South Africa died and in June 2023 ATF Press published a book entitled Righting Something That’s Wrong.[1] The title was taken from an interview, published in that volume, where he spoke about his involvement as student chaplain and the Cardijn inspired student movement he was involved with in South Africa. He referred to the YCS (Young Christian Student movement) as ‘righting something that’s wrong’.[2] In the volume Reluctant Prophet: Tributes to Albert Nolan OP, edited by Mike Deeb OP et al, who was also a key figure in the YCS in South Africa, and later internationally, wrote of Nolan’s involvement with the movement, and how in 1975 Nolan went to and (International Movement of Catholic Students (IMCS) conference in Lima and met Gustavo Gutiérrez.

Like Nolan, Gutiérrez worked with students, though for him it was University students, and this work influenced his earliest writings.

Unlike Nolan, it is very hard to find anywhere where Gutiérrez refers explicitly to his time as a chaplain to the Catholic student movement, its method and the links to his work in a Theology of Liberation and Liberation theology. Various attempts were made over the years when he was at the University of Notre Dame, Indianna, to interview him on these topics but for a variety of reasons this never came to pass.

In October 2022 Albert Nolan OP, who had been a chaplain to Catholic students in South Africa died and in June 2023 ATF Press published a book entitled Righting Something That’s Wrong.[1] The title was taken from an interview, published in that volume, where he spoke about his involvement as student chaplain and the Cardijn inspired student movement he was involved with in South Africa. He referred to the YCS (Young Christian Student movement) as ‘righting something that’s wrong’.[2] In the volume Reluctant Prophet: Tributes to Albert Nolan OP, edited by Mike Deeb OP et al, who was also a key figure in the YCS in South Africa, and later internationally, wrote of Nolan’s involvement with the movement, and how in 1975 Nolan went to and (International Movement of Catholic Students (IMCS) conference in Lima and met Gustavo Gutiérrez.

Like Nolan, Gutiérrez worked with students, though for him it was University students, and this work influenced his earliest writings.

Unlike Nolan, it is very hard to find anywhere where Gutiérrez refers explicitly to his time as a chaplain to the Catholic student movement, its method and the links to his work in a Theology of Liberation and Liberation theology. Various attempts were made over the years when he was at the University of Notre Dame, Indianna, to interview him on these topics but for a variety of reasons this never came to pass.

Gustavo Gutiérrez, was born in Lima in 1928 and began studies in Medicine and literature but changed course and studied in Belgium, Europe, to be a priest. He returned to Lima in 1960 after studies in Europe. He became active as a chaplain/advisor to students at the Peruvian National Union of Catholic Students (UNEC, which was founded in 1941) and a member of the theology faculty at PUCP. Just a few years later, in 1965, Gustavo attended the fourth and final session of the Second Vatican Council. This experience was transformative. The newly found openness of the Church further shaped Gustavo’s conviction that the Catholic faith could be a force for positive change in the world. Only three years after that, the Latin American bishops gathered in Medellín, Colombia, to ascertain the role of the Catholic faith in the Latin American context.

Gutiérrez, is widely recognised as the ‘father’ of liberation theology after the publication of his book A Theology of Liberation in 1971. His talks as national advisor to the National Union of Catholic Students in Peru between 1969 and 1970 are the basis of the book. His work and involvement with the student movement helped spread his theological ideas, focusing on liberation and social justice, within Peruvian university circles and beyond.

Gutiérrez’s theology was rooted in the social and political realities of Peru, and his work with the student movement helped to connect theological reflection with concrete social struggles. His involvement with the UNEC provided a platform for students to engage with liberation theology and participate in social and political activism. The student movement, in turn, helped to spread Gutiérrez’s ideas more widely within Peruvian society, contributing to the broader influence of liberation theology in Latin America and beyond.

Gustavo Gutiérrez, was born in Lima in 1928 and began studies in Medicine and literature but changed course and studied in Belgium, Europe, to be a priest. He returned to Lima in 1960 after studies in Europe. He became active as a chaplain/advisor to students at the Peruvian National Union of Catholic Students (UNEC, which was founded in 1941) and a member of the theology faculty at PUCP. Just a few years later, in 1965, Gustavo attended the fourth and final session of the Second Vatican Council. This experience was transformative. The newly found openness of the Church further shaped Gustavo’s conviction that the Catholic faith could be a force for positive change in the world. Only three years after that, the Latin American bishops gathered in Medellín, Colombia, to ascertain the role of the Catholic faith in the Latin American context.

Gutiérrez, is widely recognised as the ‘father’ of liberation theology after the publication of his book A Theology of Liberation in 1971. His talks as national advisor to the National Union of Catholic Students in Peru between 1969 and 1970 are the basis of the book. His work and involvement with the student movement helped spread his theological ideas, focusing on liberation and social justice, within Peruvian university circles and beyond.

Gutiérrez’s theology was rooted in the social and political realities of Peru, and his work with the student movement helped to connect theological reflection with concrete social struggles. His involvement with the UNEC provided a platform for students to engage with liberation theology and participate in social and political activism. The student movement, in turn, helped to spread Gutiérrez’s ideas more widely within Peruvian society, contributing to the broader influence of liberation theology in Latin America and beyond.