Alberto Methol Ferré had a significant relationship with Liberation Theology (LT), but in a complex and critical manner, not through full adherence or direct influence in the sense of being one of its main exponents. The Uruguayan thinker actively participated in the Latin American theological debates of the 1960s-1980s but positioned himself more as a critical and alternative interlocutor, aligned with the Theology of the People (or Theology of Culture/Popular), which emerged as a concurrent and, at the same time, complementary strand to LT in Argentina.
🗣️ Participation in ecclesial debates and the Latin American historical context
Methol Ferré was an advisor to CELAM (Latin American Episcopal Council) for over 20 years, participating in key events such as the preparation for the Puebla Conference (1979). His work took place within the scope of the Department of the Laity and, subsequently, in the influential "Equipo de Reflexión Teológico-Pastoral" of CELAM. He was present at preparatory meetings (e.g., in Buenos Aires, 1977) where he dialogued directly with central figures of LT, such as Gustavo Gutiérrez (considered the "father" of LT), and with representatives of the Theology of the People, such as Lucio Gera and Juan Carlos Scannone.
He saw these two currents as important expressions of the "Latin Americanization" of the post-Vatican II Church and Medellín (1968). For him, the meeting between them was necessary to prevent them from becoming "sterile and destructive", promoting a dialogue that would enrich the Latin American Church. He wrote specific texts on the subject, such as "Política y Teología de la Liberación" (1974, in the magazine Víspera, which he directed), analyzing its genesis based on the concepts of "poor" and "liberation".
🛡️ Critiques of Marxist hermeneutics and the defense of popular religiosity
Methol Ferré was a harsh critic of certain strands of LT, especially those that incorporated Marxist elements strongly (e.g., class struggle as a central method of social analysis, or an overly ideologized "political theology"). He strongly contested works by theologians such as Juan Luis Segundo, a Uruguayan exponent of LT. For Methol, Segundo's approach reflected an intellectual elitism that despised popular religiosity, viewing it as alienation to be overcome by ideological "conscientization".
He argued that LT, in its more radical forms, ran the risk of subordinating faith to external sociopolitical analyses (Marxist), losing the centrality of popular culture, the religiosity of the people, and the Latin American Catholic identity. He proposed an alternative: a theology of liberation without Marxism, focused on the "preferential option for the poor" (inherited from LT), but anchored in the "people" as a historical-cultural subject (not the abstract proletarian class), in popular religiosity, and in the integration of faith with Latin American history and geopolitics.
In this context, the Theology of the People - developed by Methol, Scannone, and Gera - established itself as an "autonomous current". It absorbs the option for the poor but rejects the Marxist dialectic of class struggle, emphasizing the antinomy "people" versus "anti-people" (or empire/oligarchies), where the "people" is defined by common culture and shared faith, and not merely by economic position.
🤝 The intellectual influence on Jorge Mario Bergoglio
The influence of Alberto Methol Ferré on Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Pope Francis) is profound and multifaceted, shaping key aspects of the pontiff's theological, political, and pastoral thought. This intellectual relationship solidified from 1979 onwards, during the preparation and realization of the Puebla Conference, where Methol Ferré acted as an influential intellectual, contributing to the final document that emphasized the preferential option for the poor and popular religiosity. This friendship endured, with frequent meetings in Buenos Aires, where Methol Ferré would cross the Rio de la Plata to debate with Bergoglio, then the Jesuit provincial in Argentina.
🌍 Vision of modernity, atheism, and ideological colonization
Methol Ferré interpreted the Second Vatican Council as the "first overcoming of modernity" by the Church, reassuming challenges from the Protestant Reformation and the Enlightenment for a Catholic reconciliation. He viewed Latin America as a "source-church" (not a mere reflection of Europe), capable of offering original contributions to the universal Church. Bergoglio adopted this perspective, viewing the Council as an aggiornamento that integrates faith and modern reason without compromising the Catholic essence. This manifests in Francis's pontificate in documents such as Evangelii Gaudium (2013), which emphasizes dialogue with the contemporary world and the overcoming of technocratic models.
A central point in this influence is the analysis of atheism. Methol Ferré identified the emergence of a "libertine atheism" as the new modern enemy. Unlike "messianic atheism" (Marxism), which still sought social justice (albeit without God), libertine atheism is not revolutionary but complicit with the status quo, focused on radical hedonism and the separation of beauty, truth, and justice. He proposed rescuing the positive intuitions of modernity through practices that integrate true beauty with goodness and justice.
Francis incorporated this vision in his critique of "ideological colonization", especially of Western ideologies that impose liberal, hedonistic, and technocratic models on local cultures. Bergoglio praised Methol Ferré for navigating tensions between abstract ideals (such as those of international organizations) and the concrete concerns of communities.
🗺️ Thought in motion and geopolitics
Influenced by thinkers like Jacques Maritain and Augusto Del Noce, Methol Ferré promoted a "thought in motion" - dynamic, dialectical, and faithful to the reality of peoples. Bergoglio absorbed this, rejecting static visions or rigid ideologies, and prioritizing a Church that "makes the heart burn" (a reference to the disciples of Emmaus), heals wounds, and restores happiness, rather than imposing disconnected doctrines. In an interview published in the book The Pope and the Philosopher (2013, organized by Alver Metalli), Francis described Methol Ferré as someone who "taught us to think", highlighting his metaphysical and historical depth.
In the geopolitical field, Methol Ferré emphasized Catholicism as an integrating force in Latin America, promoting a cultural and historical unity against imposed divisions - the concept of the "Great Fatherland" (Pátria Grande). This influenced Francis's vision of a peripheral Church that illuminates the center, with emphasis on inculturated evangelization and the role of the laity. Examples include the promotion of conferences like Puebla and Aparecida (2007), where Bergoglio, as principal drafter, incorporated Methol Ferré's ideas about the Church as the "people of God" on a mission.
🔖 Final considerations: the legacy of a purified theology
Methol Ferré lamented the "decline" or "evaporation" of LT following the Vatican's critiques (e.g., instructions from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1984 and 1986), arguing that the Church paid a price for getting rid of it "too easily", as this weakened the commitment to the poor. He defended the need to rescue the liberating impulse, but purified of problematic ideological influences.
This vision influenced Jorge Bergoglio to adopt the idea of a "liberation theology without Marxism", prioritizing popular piety, the poor, and Latin American culture. This influence is attested by scholars such as Massimo Borghesi in his work Jorge Mario Bergoglio: Una biografia intellettuale (2017), which dedicates entire chapters to Methol Ferré as the main intellectual source of Francis.
In summary, Methol Ferré was not a liberation theologian in the classical sense (like Gutiérrez or Boff) but influenced and was influenced by the debate surrounding it. His contribution was critical, corrective, and integrative: he recognized the value of LT for highlighting misery and the option for the poor but saw it as insufficient or risky without a deeper anchoring in Catholic tradition, in popular culture, and in the overcoming of modernity. This nuance explains why his influence on Francis is described as a "purified liberation theology".
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