A few weeks ago, the Ford Program’s Discussions on Development held an event entitled:

Re-imagining Accompaniment: Global Health and Liberation Theology

 

A Dialogue with

Rev. Gustavo Gutiérrez, OP

John Cardinal O’Hara Professor of Theology
Kellogg Institute Faculty Fellow

After studies in medicine and literature in Peru, Gustavo Gutierrez studied psychology and philosophy at Louvain, and eventually took a doctorate at the Institut Catholique in Lyons.  He is most well known for his foundational work in Latin American liberation theology, A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics, Salvation.  His other major books – which have been translated from Spanish into multiple languages besides English – touch as well on issues of spirituality and Latin American history, and include, We Drink From Our Own Wells: The Spiritual Journey of A People, On Job: God-Talk and the Suffering of the Innocent, The Truth Shall Make You Free, The God of Life, and Las Casas: In Search of the Poor of Jesus Christ. His essays have appeared in Theological Studies, La Revista Latinoamericana de Teología, and Páginas.  He has also published in and been a member of the board of directors of the international journal, Concilium.

Gutierrez has been a principal professor at the Pontifical University of Peru, and has been visiting professor at many major universities in North America and Europe.  He is 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 for human dignity and life, and against oppression, in Latin America and the Third World.  He is currently working on a book exploring the historical background and continuing theological relevance of the preferential option for the poor.

Dr. Paul Farmer

Kolokotrones University Professor at Harvard University
Chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School
Chief of the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Farmer is a medical anthropologist, physician and founding director of Partners In Health (PIH), an international nonprofit organization that provides direct health care services and has undertaken research and advocacy activities on behalf of those who are sick and living in poverty. Writing extensively on health, human rights, and the consequences of social inequality, his most recent book is Partner to the Poor: A Paul Farmer Reader. Other titles include Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor and AIDS and Accusation: Haiti and the Geography of Blame. Farmer is the recipient of many awards including a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, and, with his PIH colleagues, the Hilton Humanitarian Prize. He and his colleagues at Partners In Health were also recipients of the Notre Dame Award for International Human Development and Solidarity for the organization’s contribution to authentic human development through research, practice and public service. He earned his MD and his PhD at Harvard.

Cosponsored by: Center for Health Sciences Advising, Center for Social Concerns, Department of Theology, Eck Institute for Global Health

Now, I will fully admit that this is a dialogue between two men I greatly admire – but it is also a brilliant and beautiful example of the necessary interdisciplinary dialogue of Catholic theology, especially practical theology and moral theology. I highly recommend taking the time to consider the work of these men.